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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27527434">Harriet Potter and the Creeps</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaraMori/pseuds/NaraMori'>NaraMori</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Book 1: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Draco is Regina George, Dumbledore is Sus let's toss him out the airlock, F/F, Female Draco Malfoy, Female Draco Malfoy/Female Harry Potter, Female Harry Potter, Girl-Who-Lived (Harry Potter), Good Slytherins, Indian Harry Potter, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Raise your hand if you've been personally victimized by Regina George, Trans Character, Trans Hermione Granger</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-08 06:14:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>63,007</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27527434</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaraMori/pseuds/NaraMori</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Harriet Potter is excited to find out she's a witch and escape her horrible relatives to go to magic school.<br/>With her new friends Hermione, Parvati, and Lavender, she finds she has enemies even more terrible than the mean girls in Slytherin. </p><p>Completely Self indulgent Canon divergent Rule 63 Drarry.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>111</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>143</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Harriet and the Blonde Bitch</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"Yer a witch, Harry."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"E-excuse me?" Harriet Potter goggled at the giant in front of her. This had to be a dream, albeit an amazing one. Maybe the universe was giving her a birthday present in the form of such a dream.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"A witch, Harry. Magical," Hagrid explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sat for a bit, a number of thoughts swirling through her head nearly all at once, and yet somehow the words that slipped her lips instead were, "I'm not Harry. I'm Harriet. You must have the wrong person."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hagrid's gave a great laugh and slapped his knee. Harriet might have imagined the walls of the shack shake from the impact, "Ain't got the wrong witch, no. Yer name has been down on Hogwarts rolls since the day ye were born. An a'course you're Harriet, but yer parents and anyone worth knowing, their true friends an all, called ye Harry. Nickname, ye know. Most folk know ye as the famous Harry Potter."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Uncle Vernon rallied a bit of courage to bluster red-faced, "Harry?! We don't tolerate such nonsense. She's not a boy! Of course your kind would refute basic laws of nature!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hagrid turned his head to look him in the eyes and that was all it took for Uncle Vernon to lose the color in his face and squat down behind their defensive spot behind the couch. Hagrid turned back to Harriet with a decided much more gentle look on his face, obviously in expectation for her to speak. She nearly wanted to ask if he also knew her parents, but disappointment overshadowed that thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"But, magic? I can't do magic…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This seemed to not bother Hagrid a lick. In fact he smiled wider with a twinkle of mischief and what seemed like possible pride in his eyes, "Ain't nothing strange happened to ye? Unexplained? When you wanted or needed somethin' it just mysteriously happen?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sat in thought for a bit, her eyes drifting to the chocolate cake sitting open in its box on the dirt floor which might be stone underneath, though who knows what from the thick layer entrusting the floor. There was the time she ended up on the roof of the elementary school, and the time Dudley got gum in her hair and Aunt Petunia had to give her a terrible haircut to get it out and it all grew back overnight, and most recently the incident with the zoo's Brazilian (British?) python. With each incident her face grew less in disappointment and more in amazement and hope.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hagrid's face radiated pride and he repeated, "Yer a witch. An likely a damn fine one at that."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Diagon Alley was a feast for the senses. Witches haggling the price of beetle eyes and damselfly lace wings, while wizard children crowded around a storefront window displaying a handsome broomstick prominently. Crowds of people were milling around in a mix of robes and more typical shirts and trousers. Harriet had already bought her first wand, an amazing experience in and of itself, and Hagrid led her to supposedly pick up her robes for school. Though part of her wanted to spend more time exploring cauldrons, and odd ingredients, and what got all those wizards excited about a broom of all things, but she did look forward to buying clothes for herself, rather than the musty ill-fitting clothes Aunt Petunia would find in garage sales and in Mrs. Figgs attic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A witch, Madam Malkin allegedly, guided Harriet to a short small platform in order to get her measurements. "Hogwarts too?" A high slightly nasally drawl behind her uttered. Harriet turned to look and saw what she imagined a fairy tale princess would look like. A girl with long sleek platinum hair, and beautiful grey eyes was inspecting her own nails in apparent boredom. She was beautiful, outside of the mildly sour expression. Harriet had to catch herself from her thoughts to reply.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ah- yeah. Are you getting your robes for Hogwarts too?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girl gave her a look that seemed to read "obviously," didn't reply as such. Instead she said, "What house do you expect to sort?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Sort?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The beautiful girl put her hands on her hips in annoyance, "Hogwarts houses. You know. Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and the best of all, Slytherin."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet blushed a bit. Obviously there was a lot to learn about the magical community. Would she be okay? "Oh, those houses. I guess I'll find out?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girl looked at her a little closer, evaluating Harriet for some unknown criteria before returning to examining her own nails, "Well I'll surely be in Slytherin. My whole family going back centuries has sorted into Slytherin. What about you? What house were your parents in?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet paused because she didn't know what house her parents were in. The blonde continued, sounding scandalized, "Don't tell me your parents are muggle. They did go to Hogwarts, right?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Was that something to be embarrassed about? Harriet didn't know. She said with a slight frown, "My parents were magical."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At that moment both their eyes were caught by Hagrid waving at Harriet from outside the shop, as it seemed he had finished whatever business he needed to complete. The pretty girl's face sneered in a very much unpretty fashion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ugh. He's not with </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>, is he? What sort of creature is he? Half giant?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whatever dazzling feelings she might have had for the pretty girl evaporated immediately. She'd heard that exact tone come out of her Aunt Petunia at nauseum.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"His name is Hagrid and he's brilliant. He's the groundskeeper at Hogwarts and is helping me around Diagon Alley today."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn't think the blonde's sneer could get more disgusted, and yet it did, "You can't be serious. What are you, some sort of muggleborn in need of a teacher to show you the ropes? I thought you said your parents were magical." She emphasized the word </span>
  <em>
    <span>muggleborn</span>
  </em>
  <span> with particular disdain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet didn't answer but she gave her a look to kill. Hagrid was her first real friend, and she wouldn't ever take that for granted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though before discussion could continue, Madam Malkin returned and said to the decidedly much uglier blonde girl, "You're all done, dear."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a sniff of disgust she was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Madam Malkin turned to her and fussed with hem lengths, Harriet thought about her recent encounter, taking deep breaths to center herself. Were there distinctions between those with magical parents and those without? Obviously, and just another form of stratification, and there were Uncle Vernons, Aunt Petunias and Dudleys to enforce it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was ultimately distracted from her thoughts by Hagrid still beaming brightly, patiently waiting and it banished any negative thoughts from her mind. She beamed back with a little wave as Madam Malkin fussed with her hem at her ankles and Hagrid gave a bright wave back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harriet kept looking between the signs 9 and 10 at King's Cross. She was always tinier than everyone around her, not that it was difficult around Dudley, but in the noisy, busy station with her full trolley and screeching Hedwig in her cage, she felt particularly small. Was this something Hagrid had told her and she missed?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn't help that Uncle Vernon didn't particularly seem to care about being timely for once. When it was something important for Harriet, it seemed fashionably late really was the fashion. She took another anxious look at the clock. 5 minutes until the train should leave.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just then, a redheaded woman and her young daughter seemed to emerge right out of the brick barrier. "Sorry, Ginny but we can't apparate back today. We need to bring your father's infernal car home."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet could cry. If that wasn't magic, she would eat her non-existent hat. She approached the two anxiously, "Excuse me?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman took her in, along with her full trolley and screeching owl, "Yes, dear? Oh, no. You're not for Hogwarts are you? You're dreadfully late! It'll leave without you soon!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet nodded vigorously and said "How do I catch it?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman started pushing her towards the barrier, the woman babbled anxiously, "What is with the staff this year?! They usually explain how to get onto the platform. And your parents! Just force yourself through the barrier with intention. You won't hit it and go straight through if you do. Quickly now! Go!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet couldn't help but take it at a run, barely worried she would collide, the fear of missing the train overrode any danger of potential bodily harm. She did however close her eyes before the potential collision, and opened them when she felt the air change instead. A gleaming red steam engine with gilded cars stood before her. She stood in shock for a second before the whistle blew, reminding her of the imminent departure and she pushed on, loading her gear off the trolley just as the train started to shudder and move. Just made it!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet was left dragging her trunk with one hand and Hedwig's cage with the other, trying to find an available car. She entered the nearest one with kids that looked closest to her age.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were three boys and a girl, with a decent amount of room to spare so she entered with a, "Can I sit with you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of the boys shrugged, a second boy looked like he didn't care, the third just looked nervous in general, and the girl smiled brightly and said, "Yes, of course! Are you a first year too?" She had bushy brown hair and a darker skin tone than Harriet's, and seemed nice, if exuberant. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet took a bit to try and pull her trunk in, and one of the boys, the one who looked like he didn't care, oddly helped her lift it up onto the rack. After getting settled, Harriet finally answered, "Yeah. You too?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bushy haired girl nodded, "I'm Hermione Granger. This is Zacharias Smith," boy who waved, "Anthony Goldstein," surprisingly helpful one that she supposed was just a chill sort, "and Neville Longbottom," the scared one, Harriet noted in her head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm Harriet Potter," she smiled, though her smile disappeared when the whole group gasped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Not </span>
  <em>
    <span>the</span>
  </em>
  <span> Harry Potter?" Zacharias said disbelieving. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I read about you! In 'Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century!'" Hermione exclaimed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Lift up your bangs," Zacharias demanded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Rude! That's no way to treat a lady!" Hermione defended.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zacharias waved a hand dismissively, "She's not particularly good looking. Who's to say she's just a big fake. She should have the lightning scar under that mop, especially for being so average otherwise."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione looked indignant and opened her mouth to state her offense, but Harriet snapped back first, "It's not like you're barely even average yourself. I think it'd be worth it to get some cosmetic work to beautify your face, because you don't have any hope of a girl wanting you for your personality."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anthony just snorted in amusement, shrugging good-naturedly when Zacharias shot him a glare.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione grinned in approval, Harriet didn't know whether it was for her sarcastic defense, or just solidly putting him in his place. She nodded and changed the subject before Zacharias could even stutter out a response, further shutting him down. Harriet liked Hermione already. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Is that your owl? She's lovely. Snowy barn owl, I believe?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet pulled Hedwig's cage out from under her arm, "Yeah, I got her as a birthday present."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"They're supposedly extremely useful and can be quite intelligent," Hermione said as she gazed at the owl. Hedwig seemed to preen under the attention, puffing up slightly in pride, attempting to look as dignified as possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet snuck a finger in her cage to gently brush it down the crown of her head before saying, "Do you have any pets?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione shook her head as Neville was excited to join the conversation with a light shout of "I do! My toad, Trevor!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione said, "They were on the list approved pets to bring, weren't they?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neville just beamed and turned to pull a shoebox sized basket from the overhang luggage, "Yeah! He's wonderful and has all sorts of magical abilities. He's-" Neville's voice cut off as he pulled the basket down and opened the lid. A look of horror appeared on his face, "He's gone!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sure enough, the basket was empty and Harriet thought Neville looked scared before, but now he looked terrified. She did feel a bit bad for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neville started frantically looking around their cabin, "Trevor! Trevor! He's not here! He could be anywhere!" Everyone pitched in to look for him, even Zacharias for a bit, though he didn't particularly help to move the heavy luggage to peak behind it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a few minutes of scouring the place, Hermione held out her hand to Neville, a determined look on her face, "Come on. We'll check the whole train if we have to."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neville smiled slightly and took her hand, "Thanks, Hermione."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet didn't particularly want to be left with just Anthony as a buffer between herself and Zacharias, plus it might be fun exploring the rest of the cars, "I'll come too."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione nodded and they exited the cabin. They walked to the first cabin and went down the line, Hermione taking point and asking if anyone had found a toad. Harriet stayed in her shadow with Neville, mostly trying to give him some comfort, not that she felt she was particularly skilled at giving anyone comfort really.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Towards the end of the train they found the room with the blonde she met at the robe shop, in what appeared as if she was holding court with a pug nosed girl, another girl that looked like she shared Dudley's hobby of beating people up, and a handsome boy. There was another kid in the corner with their nose stuck so deeply in a book, she couldn't read what gender they might be. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blonde sneered but mostly waved her hand with quite a bit more flourish than Zacharias, but still very dismissively, "No, we haven't seen any toad. Wouldn't be caught dead with something so embarrassingly pathetic."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fucking bitch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least Harriet was pleased, the rude blonde didn't notice her sticking to the background. She had always preferred it that way, as it was less likely she got in trouble at home if she wasn't noticed. Not that she ever lost her mouth, as sometimes she couldn't help the sarcasm that escaped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They traveled to the engine, which they were barred from entering, and the caboose, which was full of luggage and what appeared to be magical equipment of some kind. Harriet bought enough sweets from the cart lady in the passageway that she stuffed her pockets to the brim and handed even more off to Neville and Hermione.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually they couldn't justify looking any further, as otherwise they would have to search each cabin again, without taking the occupants at their word. With an air of disappointment, they returned to their cabin, but discovered Anthony and Zacharias weren't alone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She heard a familiar drawl from the sour blonde, her two companions were standing as well, the pug and the thug Harriet decided to call them in her head, "I refuse to wait any longer. You can direct her to visit my cabin as I'm sure she would be eager to meet me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zacharias said, "Oh, come on. She really was here! I'm sure she'll be back any minute."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione stepped into the cabin, "Waiting for who?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blonde drawled, "Harry Potter."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione and Neville turned behind them, drawing everyone's attention to Harriet's spot in the background. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blonde goggled, "You?! The shabby, homeless looking girl with the giant?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet growled in the back of her throat, "What of it?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blonde opened her mouth as if to toss out another insult, but seemed to have thought better of it midway through. She collected herself primly and drawled, "I'm here to offer you connections Potter. I am Draco Malfoy. This is Pansy Parkinson." Pug. "And Millicent Bolstrode." Thug. "I can help you succeed in this place and teach you the ropes. You won't get anywhere hanging around with half-breeds, muggleborns, and squibs." The blonde girl, Draco Malfoy glanced particularly at Neville as she said the word </span>
  <em>
    <span>squibs.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet crossed her arms and glared, "Thanks but no thanks."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco looked shocked, as if she didn't expect her to even remotely refuse, "What do you mean?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I said no."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet felt a spike of adrenaline and a touch of satisfaction watching that pale face turn red in anger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What's your problem?!" Draco spat out, leaning forward towards Harriet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet met her by leaning forward herself, "I dunno. What's your problem?! You don't like me, but now you want to be buddies because I'm famous? For this?!" Harriet lifted up her bangs to show off the lightning scar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What's wrong with that?! Who makes friends because they actually like them?!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet threw up her arms in aggravation, "I don't know? Reasonable people!! Maybe you wouldn't know being surrounded by Fake Friends!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zacharias purred, "Oooh. Are you girls going to cat fight? That would be so hot."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet and Draco turned simultaneously towards the boy, both shocked into a few seconds of silence. Draco sputtered out, "What the hell, Smith?!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah! Why do you have to be such a skeeze!" Harriet mirrored.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Zacharias nudged Anthony with a sleezy grin, "What do you think? Maybe they would pull each other's hair. Someone could lose a shirt."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anthony just gave Zacharias a look and shook his head, "Mate."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What?!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet and Draco both mirrored crossing their arms indignantly, until they caught each other's eye and then mirrored turning their heads sharply away from each other in a huff. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco was back to her usual drawl, though Harriet could still hear a touch of the breathless anger lingering, "Fine. Stay here with your squibs and perverts."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet bit out, "You can take the pervert with you actually."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco snorted a genuine laugh that she obviously didn't mean to do, before she caught herself and returned to her frown, "You </span>
  <em>
    <span>will</span>
  </em>
  <span> regret refusing my help." And she turned in what had to have been the most dramatic fashion Harriet had ever seen. What a bitch.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I tried my best with British slang, though I apologize if I have a hard time escaping Americaisms. This will be quite canon divergent if you can tell, and there will be a trans character because fuck you Jo.</p><p>Harry won't spend as much time with the Wesleys, not that I don't love them to bits. They're all black holes of friendship. Suck you in and give you love and chunky sweaters. But Harry's relationship with them has been done before and I'd love to explore bonding among the Gryffindor Girls.</p><p>Thanks for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Harriet and the New Dormmates</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks to my amazing beta and friend Anra7777! She's not even into drarry and has still been wonderfully helpful.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>The whispers of the students dulled as the hat was placed on her head and fell over Harriet's eyes and ears.</p><p>A rusty sounding voice spoke up, "Hm, tough case I see. Drive to prove yourself, good deal of bravery, not afraid of putting forth the effort needed, and a good deal of wit, though little wisdom, but that can come with time. Hmm, hmm. Seems to me I see you being best suited in Slytherin or Gryffindor."</p><p>"Slytherin? Wasn't that the house that bitc—I mean, Draco Malfoy just sorted into?" Harriet thought. </p><p>"Why yes. Good to see you're somewhat observant. A useful trait for a Slytherin. I could put you together."</p><p>"No! Why would I want to be with her! No! The only person I'd hate to be with more is Zacharias!"</p><p>"Zachrias? Haven't sorted a Zacharias recently."</p><p>"Zacharias Smith. Can you do me a favor and not stick me with him?"</p><p>"A Smith, eh? I'm guessing he'll be sorting after you, but if he's anything like most Smiths I get, he'll probably be in Hufflepuff. However I absolutely love to send students to houses their families didn't sort into. I'd love to get a Bones out of Hufflepuff, a Weasley out of Gryffindor, a Cornwall out of Ravenclaw, a Malfoy out of Slytherin, but alas. They all choose to follow their families. Speaking of, you would do well in Slytherin."</p><p>"Not. Slytherin. And definitely not Hufflepuff either!" Harriet thought as loudly as possible.</p><p>"Why not? You would be great in Slytherin. You could prove your worth beyond your famous name. Find friends to help you achieve your desires. Power to shape your world as you see fit."</p><p>Harriet frowned, did the hat have to sound like he was trying to create a megalomaniac?</p><p>The hat laughed at Harriet's stray thought, "Just because evil has come from Slytherin, doesn't mean the other three don't have it in them. There has been plenty of evil done in the name of good. All four houses produce witches and wizards of distinction, and all have done both good and ill in the world. Also, power doesn't always mean evil either. In Slytherin you would have more options to shape your own destiny. I'm sure that would be appealing to you."</p><p>That's a thought. Most of her life felt completely out of her control. Options to shape her own destiny...but she also couldn't stand being so obviously and forcefully manipulated, by an albeit clever and probably extremely worldwise after centuries of sortings hat.</p><p>"No. I'd rather not. Not Slytherin."</p><p>It felt as if the hat might have sighed in disappointment, "All right, if it won't be Slytherin, you'll be in GRYFFINDOR!"</p><p>The hat shouted the last part and the table filled with students sporting red and gold clapped and whistled, one redhead student next to their identical twin cupped their hands and taunted the other house tables, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"</p><p>Harriet flushed from the unnecessary attention, but spotted Hermione sitting in Gryffindor and made a beeline for her. The tiny feeling of regret and potential <em> what ifs </em> disappeared in the light of having her new friend share her house.</p><p>They gave each other a small smile and continued to respectfully turn their attention to the rest of the sorting. Harriet was very thankfully pleased to note that Zacharias did land in Hufflepuff, far away from Gryffindor.</p><p>Once the final student, Zabini had sorted into Slytherin, the old headmaster gave what technically counted as an opening speech, and dinner magically appeared. </p><p>Harriet dug into a dish of scalloped potatoes as the two new first year girls introduced themselves to her and Hermione.</p><p>A girl with smooth plated hair spoke up first, "I'm Parvati Patil. Nice to meet you."</p><p>Harriet swallowed the bite she was chewing before answering, excited to have the opportunity to introduce someone she knew for the first time in her life, "I'm Harriet Potter. This is Hermione Granger. We met on the train ride over." Hermione gave her own wave and smile.</p><p>A girl with dark skin and lighter wavy hair said, "Lavender Brown."</p><p>The three girls all managed their various how-do-you-do’s before Lavender said, "I have to ask. Do you not go by Harry?"</p><p>Harriet shrugged, "I didn't even know I was a witch, much less that I had a famous nickname, until I got my letter."</p><p>Parvati looked particularly concerned, though Hermione interrupted, "Would you prefer Harriet over Harry?"</p><p>That gave her pause, and after a second she spoke her thoughts aloud, "I dunno. Maybe? I only just found out I <em> could </em> go by Harry… but then it's associated with fame I had no real means of earning. My parents died and I'm famous for that? But I kind of hate my relatives and they would hate if I went by Harry, which I'd be all for… I find out I'm a witch, and I have a new name. It feels connected, you know? Maybe I could go by Harry."</p><p>The girls were all silent in the presence of all this revelation. Parvati eventually spoke up, with a certain concerned determination, "You were raised by your muggle relatives on your mother's side, right?"</p><p>Harriet looked a little surprised at how knowledgeable she was, "Uh...yeah. My mother's sister."</p><p>"She didn't tell you about your father's side?"</p><p>Harriet shook her head, "They told me my parents were killed drunk driving."</p><p>Parvati snorted, "That's rich considering drinking was against your father's religion, not that he supposedly didn't indulge in occasion." She looked suddenly far more serious and continued, "So you know nothing about your Indian heritage?"</p><p>Harriet was shocked, "W-what? I'm Indian?" Her mind was suddenly reeling. She always looked different from her relatives, and Aunt Marge always had strange rantings about poor breeding, but she never thought she had family from India of all places. It shed new light on some of her relatives' behavior. She wasn't nearly as dark as Parvati, and in fact was the second palest of the four girls, Lavender being just slightly more light, and Hermione being the darkest of the four of them. But she had always been different from the Dursleys, and had found out it wasn't just because of her magic.</p><p>Parvati placed her hand on Harriet's and said fiercely, "It's not as well publicized among the general magical population, but at least among the magical Indian community we're quite proud of you. When we get settled I'll tell you everything I know."</p><p>Lavender grinned widely, "Guess that means the whole of Gryffindor girls is brown!"</p><p>The four girls all had relieved and happy smiles for each other. Harriet in particular was excited to find out about her family. She'd get more information about her family! It was wonderful! Though for the rest of the girls, it seemed like that was one less thing to worry about.</p><p>They had small talk for the rest of dinner, Hermione mostly taking the time to explain muggle dentistry to the other two in an attempt to explain her parents’ careers, but Harriet had to interrupt. </p><p>"Who's the professor that's been glaring at me?"</p><p>Lavender looked up discreetly, watching carefully for a minute or two, "Which one?"</p><p>"There's more than one?"</p><p>Lavender nodded, "One of those my brother told me about, the dark, broody one, Professor Snape. He teaches potions and is the head of Slytherin and favors them. He couldn't be more obvious. Did you piss in his tea or something?"</p><p>Harriet frowned, "I've never met him before. What could I have done? But there's another teacher glaring at me?"</p><p>Lavender nodded, "It's the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He's more sneaky about it, but if looks could kill..." Lavender shivered.</p><p>Harriet snuck a glance up at the table and sure enough there was the dark, broody one glaring openly at her, but sitting next to him in the turban was the teacher eating quietly looking nervous and twitchy. He briefly glanced up from his food and for a split second Harriet could swear his eyes turned red. Her forehead seared with pain and she grasped her forehead tightly.</p><p>Hermione gasped, "Are you okay?"</p><p>Just as quickly as the pain arrived, it disappeared, leaving Harriet breathless, the turban clad professor was back to his nervous twitchy eating. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just weird head pain. It's gone now."</p><p>Hermione hummed, a little worried, but said nothing.</p><p>Lavender shivered again, "See? That guy gives me the creeps. And I have an <em> excellent </em>intuition."</p><p>Parvati waved her hand, "Well, if the curse holds, he'll be gone within the year."</p><p>"Curse?" Harriet asked.</p><p>Lavender grinned widely, excited to add to the gossip, "My brother told me about that, too. They say the DADA position is cursed. A student got such poor grades in it, their dark witch mother cursed the position so that the teacher at the time wouldn't last the year. And since then, no teacher has been able to last more than one year."</p><p>Hermione crossed her arms across her chest in a huff, "That doesn't even remotely make sense. Why wouldn't the witch just curse the teacher and not the position?"</p><p>Lavender frowned at being denied so strongly, "I don't know. I'm not the witch that cursed the position."</p><p>"There probably isn't any curse in the first place," Hermione doubled down.</p><p>Lavender frowned deeply, but Harriet put her arms up to try to pacify them both, "Well, we'll find out, right? Cause he kind of gives me the creeps too."</p><p>It seemed successful, as Lavender shivered again in agreement.</p><p>As the pudding course arrived and everyone grabbed something, Harriet asked, "Do you know any of the other professors?"</p><p>Lavender looked at the staff table and started down the line, "So on the far left should be Professor Sprout. She teaches Herbology, and is head of Hufflepuff." She continued conspiratorially in an obvious loud whisper, "I heard she's got an arrest warrant in Nepal for roughing up a Buddhist monk."</p><p>Harriet looked up at a friendly faced short woman who seemed a down-to-earth type and Harriet had a hard time imagining her with an arrest warrant. </p><p>"Next to her is Professor Sinistra. She teaches Astronomy and comes from a family that makes wine in Italy, though just between you and me, I've heard they have ties with the mob.</p><p>"Next is Hagrid, he's the groundskeeper. I've heard he's half giant and has been breeding some sort of monster in the Forbidden Forest."</p><p>Harriet side-eyed a look at her. She got the groundskeeper part right, and the half giant was definitely believable, but raising a monster? Hagrid seemed too gentle and kind for that.</p><p>"Next is Professor McGonagall. She's our head of house and also teaches Transfiguration. I've heard that you should never challenge her in a drinking contest, if you value your liver, and that her and Professor Snape are good friends."</p><p>"The professor that's glaring at me?"</p><p>"Yup."</p><p>"Huh…"</p><p>Lavender continued, "Next is the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore."</p><p>"The one that looks like the most wizardy wizard ever?" Harriet thought out loud.</p><p>Hermione hummed in agreement, "He does look very Tolkien-esque."</p><p>Harriet felt proud to actually get that reference, but Lavender continued, "Dumbledore's incredibly powerful. Probably got more magic than anyone in this room, possibly everyone combined. He defeated Grindelwald and was the leader of the secret army fighting You-Know-Who."</p><p>Harriet asked, "He fought Voldemort?"</p><p>All the girls shivered and squeaked in response, Parvati exclaiming, "Don't say that name!"</p><p>Harriet shrugged and asked again, "So did he?"</p><p>Parvati nodded, "Supposedly, he's the only one You-Know-You feared. The only one he couldn't beat. Well, other than…" Parvati looked particularly at Harriet and her fringe covered forehead.</p><p>Harriet frowned at the attention but then asked, "Who's Grindelwald?"</p><p>Parvati said, "A powerful dark wizard before You-Know-You's time. Kind of took his style from him if I'm honest. He wanted to break the Statute of Secrecy and have wizards rule over the muggles. Magical rule and what not. Really he just wanted power for himself and killed anyone in his way."</p><p>Lavender added again in her loud whisper, "I heard that they were friends when they were kids. Dumbledore and Grindelwald. Grindelwald was particularly fit and Dumbledore had quite the fancy for him."</p><p>Parvati scoffed, "There's no way that's true."</p><p>Lavender grinned wider, "It so is! I heard it from my Aunt Adenium, who heard it from Bathilda Bagshot, who was childhood friends with the Dumbledore children."</p><p>"You mean the author of 'Hogwarts: A History' and 'History of Magic?' <em> That </em> Bathilda Bagshot?" Hermione who was looking quite skeptical earlier, seemed to warm up with that.</p><p>Lavender grinned wider, "The very same."</p><p>Hermione looked up at the staff table, "So does that mean Professor Dumbledore is gay?"</p><p>Harriet looked up as well. Professor Dumbledore seemed to be laughing lightly in some conversation with Professor McGonagall. The Dursleys always had nasty things to say about homosexuals, as they did about a great many things. Harriet was a little pleased to note that his relatives were nearly always wrong.</p><p>Lavender asked gently to Hermione, "I heard muggles hate anyone bent."</p><p>Hermione frowned, "They don't really...well there are some that do. I think people feel uncomfortable with stuff that changes their worldview. I think if people realized that others just want to live their lives, they wouldn't mind so much."</p><p>Lavender asked again, "So you don't?"</p><p>Hermione scoffed, "I'm the last to judge someone for being bent."</p><p>Parvati had to ask, "Wait, are you?"</p><p>Hermione suddenly looked nervous, "Well, no. I mean. I consider myself to be straight actually. But well. I…"</p><p>Whatever nervous fumbling Hermione might have said was cut off by Dumbledore standing to speak.</p><p>"Ahem, a few more words now that you have all been victualed. An announcement to first years and reminder to others that the forest is forbidden. Quidditch trials will be held next week and any second years or older should contact Madam Hooch. Also that our caretaker Mr. Filch has a substantial list of rules and regulations posted on his office door that he encourages students to peruse at their leisure. Finally, the third floor corridor on the right side is forbidden this year, and should not be entered unless you wish to die painfully."</p><p>Harriet laughed but it seemed she was one of the few. She nervously fell silent.</p><p>Dumbledore continued brightly, "And now the school song!"</p><p>After a rather bizarre cacophony, the girls were encouraged by the Gryffindor prefects to follow them to the dormitories.</p><p>A mousy haired freckled girl by the name of Melody Hammond introduced herself as a fifth year prefect and directed them to the tower. "If there's anything you need, feel free to reach out. I know it is all a bit much, but you will adjust soon, I'm sure. Gryffindors tend to be a friendly lot and will help out where we can. Though don't trust the boys. They're all a bunch of dunderheads as a rule."</p><p>They crawled past the Fat Lady's portrait into a cozy common room decked in red and gold, couches looked overstuffed and worn into soft comfort, draped with red afghans. Harriet loved it instantly.</p><p>"Take the stairway up to the girls dorms. It's divided by year, so if you need me, I'll be in the fifth year room 3."</p><p>The four girls looked at each other and Parvati asked, "How many girls are there to a room?"</p><p>Melody replied, "Oh. You'll all fit in one."</p><p>"Do we separate as we get older?" Hermione questioned.</p><p>Melody cottoned on to what they were actually asking, "No. You'll stay in the same room, but your year and the second and third years are much smaller than normal. During the war there weren't nearly as many births among magical families. Actually, you all will have to share classes with the other houses too. They started having to do that with the third years when they started. It's happened a couple times through Hogwarts history, but I've heard it's not terrible working with the other houses. Hufflepuffs are pretty bril."</p><p>Melody continued with a wink in Harriet's direction, "Thanks to you, class sizes will look a little more normal with next year's first years. There was a bit of a baby boom after you took out You-Know-Who."</p><p>This was a lot to process, but mostly Harriet thought about how they'll have classes with the other houses. Harriet hoped she wouldn't have to interact much with Draco Malfoy, or even worse, Zacharias Smith.</p><p>As Melody led Parvati and Lavender up the stairs, Hermione stopped dead in front of the first step, Harriet ran into her back from being lost in thought.</p><p>"Hermione? Everything okay?"</p><p>Hermione just looked at the bottom step nervously. After a second she got a determined look on her face and took the step, then another, each bringing a wide, bright smile to her face. She replied back to Harriet, "I'm brilliant. Thank you."</p><p>Odd, but Harriet shrugged mentally. She would ask about it later.</p><p>They made it up to their room, a sign on the front stating 'First Years,' and there were four four-poster beds hung with red velvet drapes inside. It looked just as cozy as the common room did, and Harriet smiled widely. She could already feel that this would make a great home. It was dark, but Harriet could see a wide field with some tall stands out the window and the forest beyond. It was brilliant, all of it, and she couldn't wait to get settled. She discovered her trunk was placed in front one of the beds close to the windows, set between Hermione and Parvati, with Lavender on Parvati's other side.</p><p>The other girls started pulling nightgowns out of their trunks and pulling them on, and Harriet did the same. </p><p>Once they all settled into bed Lavender called out, "Goodnight! See you in the morning!"</p><p>Harriet and the others replied with their own goodnight and pulled the velvet curtains on their beds.</p><p>As Harriet laid down on her pillow, she worried briefly that she was too excited to rest, but it didn't take long before she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>World building, yay!!</p><p>Also a bit of my own personal headcanon: our dearly departed author had stated in interviews that Hogwarts has around 1000 students, but if you do calculations based on the number of students Harry knows and the relative class size, it equates to about 250.</p><p>Where's the other 3/4ths of the student population??<br/>They just weren't born in the years around the war.</p><p>Also Hermione read in Hogwarts: A History that the stairs to the girls dorms kick out boys. She was just nervous it wouldn't let her in. The castle knows Hermione is real girl, unlike what our dearly departed author might think.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Harriet and the Goth Teacher</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The whispers that followed Harriet were particularly concerning. She had always preferred being as unnoticeable as possible, and suddenly she was the focus of nearly every person she passed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet had been thankful of the Gryffindor girls, though Lavender obviously desired to ask her a million questions, Parvati seemed to be a moderating force, reading Harriet's discomfort and steering attention elsewhere. Hermione just seemed more interested in classes and magical culture in general, and that became an easy diversion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The classes themselves were interesting, despite Harriet's nervousness of being able to keep up. Students seemed to have equal footing despite their magical or muggle background, everything seemed a new experience to everyone. Culturally there were stark differences, but in terms of the knowledge needed in class and the actual performance of spells, they all were equal. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, almost equal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How did you even know that?" Harriet asked said student after their first Transfiguration class.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione tilted her head in question, "I read it, of course."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet shook her head, "There's no way I could remember...what was it? Falcons number something whatever law?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione sighed, "Fallon's third law of magical conservation."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, that."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well it was in the required reading. You got your books this summer, right? Did you not read 'Intro to Transfiguration'?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet scratched the back of neck in a nervous fashion, "Er…" She did, or she tried over the summer, but reading was difficult for Harriet at the best of times, as no one had spent the time to really teach her outside of primary school class. All of her magical textbooks did seem interesting, but after having to try to parse the strange vocabulary used, any reading much less comprehension, felt impossible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender laughed, "I didn't really either, Harry. I probably should at least crack one of them."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione put her hands on her hips in a huff, "It's important reading! The teachers assigned it to us for a reason. And don't call her, Harry. She hasn't said that is her preferred name."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet put her hands up, "It's okay. I don't mind 'Harry.' Really."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione wagged her finger in a scolding tone, "That's not the same as preferred. People should respect your preferences."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Seriously. It's alright. I don't mind it." Harriet really didn't feel like arguing about something that at least to her felt relatively meaningless. Hermione huffed again and Harriet saw she wasn't going to get very far, so she added, "I give my express permission for Lavender or anyone else to call me 'Harry,' okay?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione crossed her arms in displeasure, but couldn't help but nod, mollified.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had to stop for directions, with the first year Gryffindor boys playing around behind them but still following the girls' lead on their way to Potions. The boys, baring Neville, did seem kind of useless, and seemed happier to play around and talk about how boring the Gryffindor girls all seemed when they showed they were less than amused at their antics. Whatever. At least there were only a few of them and they didn't treat Harriet as an oddity to be stared at.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, Melody had been right and most other students and the ghosts were willing to help them, especially if they approached any of the older girls and the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff ghosts. Most boys, no matter the house seemed to be useless, so unless in dire need, they avoided them if they could.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If only Harriet could avoid the whispers that followed from both genders immediately after them. What she wouldn't give to be unnoticeable once more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She also wasn't looking forward to Potions much, with the loathing looks Professor Snape gave Harriet in the Great Hall. At least DADA had been a bit of a bust. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite her initial reservations about Professor Quirrell, and Lavender's insistence on his enduring creepiness, said professor seemed harmless. Mostly his room smelt strongly of garlic and he couldn't quite pronounce various beasts and baddies without stuttering and quivering strongly. Though thanks to Lavender bringing attention to it, Harriet noticed that he would almost never look her in the eye. It might have been explained away with nerves, but it seemed he didn't have the same problem with the other students, including Lavender, Parvati, and Hermione. It was only Harriet that never caught his eye directly. Maybe he was a bit creepy. That and her forehead ached a little after spending time in that class. It was probably the garlic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What truly unnerved Harriet were the whispers in the hallway, common room, classrooms, the Great Hall, bathrooms, pretty much everywhere. It was getting really irritating, along with getting under her skin. She was sure there was some magic out there that could make her unnoticeable again, maybe even invisible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were two major exceptions to the whispers and odd looks, the Gryffindors of her year, and the Slytherins she dubbed the Pug, the Thug, and the Bitch. Harriet was still working on a good name for Draco Malfoy. It needed to be something that rhymed or something. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Said group was heading right for them—not surprising, since they had been warned that they would be sharing the class with the Slytherins.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, good. I knew I needed to collect some eggs for potions, and there's a convenient bird's nest right here," Draco Malfoy drawled and flicked at Harriet's messy hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet could feel her adrenaline start to flow, a little part of her felt a bit refreshed after feeling unnerved all this time, "Again, what's your problem? I told you no. Find someone else to stick your sour face in front of."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco Malfoy drawled while examining her nails, "You're my problem, Potter. You should have known better than to spend time with lesser sorts. I'm just reminding you what a real witch should look like."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet growled and got in her face, "A real </span>
  <em>
    <span>bitch, </span>
  </em>
  <span>you mean. Get out of my face. I have done nothing to you. Leave me alone."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco Malfoy met her in turn, their faces inches away from each other, "I have no reason to answer to you. Wah, wah. Go cry to your mother. Oh, wait. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>forgot.</span>
  </em>
  <span>" She added with the slimmest smirk Harriet had ever seen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>God, she wanted to punch that smirk off her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then Harriet had what she thought was a brilliant idea. These magic culture types had no clue about muggles, and Draco Malfoy was prissy enough to fall for it on that alone. Harriet had watched other kids in the primary school garden teasing each other with it and had always wished she would get the chance to use it too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet put out her index finger and poked at an imaginary speck of dirt on Draco Malfoy's front robes, "Ew. What's that on you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco's face alarmed and she looked down, 'What? What? What's on me?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet flicked her finger up, hitting Draco's nose in the process and said smugly and satisfied, "Made you look."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco just looked confused, though she immediately flushed brightly once Harriet started laughing loud and hard. All the other girls were looking just as bemused, though Hermione alone was shaking her head in disapproval.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet just laughed and laughed, until Draco sputtered, flushed in anger or embarrassment, "W-well you're, uh, so short you could see it! On my robes!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet wiped a few tears from her eyes still chuckling, "Boo. Lame. Got to try better than that."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco opened her mouth temporarily speechless, red-faced and sputtering before she whipped around, stomping away, her cronies on her heels.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet had another minute of laughter as Hermione huffed, "Childish much?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet grinned, "Oh, c'mon. You have to admit, if they're gonna hold our muggle-ness against us, might as well get a few good hits in. Next time I might try 'got-your-nose' and see what happens."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even Hermione couldn't fight the side of her mouth twitching upward before huffing and crossing her arms, obviously fighting with herself not to laugh as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati asked a bit hesitantly, "What was that?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione frowned and explained, "A muggle taunt. You pretend there's something on the other's clothing and then when they look, you flick their nose and say 'made you look.' Mostly popular among early primary school children. It's extremely juvenile."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet stuck her tongue out at Hermione, and Hermione was fighting to keep from smiling again. The twitch at the side of her mouth looked painful. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they arrived at Potions, and found seats, Parvati and Lavender paired up at one table, and Hermione and Harriet at another. Of course not without Harriet barely missing a step when Draco Malfoy stuck her ankle out in order to trip her. Ha! Harriet was super agile. As if that could, Harriet laughed in her head, </span>
  <em>
    <span>trip</span>
  </em>
  <span> her up when she was already adept at dodging Uncle Vernon and Dudley's fists.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Too bad her good humor didn't last when dark and moody glided into the room like a sickly and poorer groomed Dracula.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Professor Snape started, "Welcome to Potions. I'm sure you've been dazzled by flashier and more flamboyant forms of magic since before entering my class, however potions have been brewed since the dawn of magical knowledge. The Ancients bewitched their targets, transformed themselves into disguises to evade detection, and could brew to make their enemies fall into enchanted sleep. One of the earliest known forms of magic has been potions and if you lot aren't as thick and useless as I usually get, you too can brew Amortentia to bewitch, Polyjuice to disguise, and Draught of Living Death to send any who imbibe into a sleep so deep they appear as dead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That of course will require you to work hard. Potions is not a subject to be taken lightly. It is dangerous and I will not tolerate anything less than the seriousness it deserves." Snape smiled in a rather mean way and turned towards Harriet, "Let's see if all of you have taken the subject as seriously as I require."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned dramatically and demanded, "Tell me, Potter. What are some of the most common uses of mandrake root?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet opened her mouth for a bit and closed it. Hermione sitting next to her, flung her arm straight up in the air. Harriet just shook her head minutely and replied, "I don't know, sir."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Snape answered with a sneer, "Mandrake root is used in potions to induce movement, commonly to dispell Lethargy, Paralysis, and Slowing spells. Now tell me, what sort of base should you choose when creating a basic Healing Draught?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet frowned and Hermione's arm might have gone even higher if that was possible, "I don't know, sir."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Snape replied, "Aqua vitae is used for nearly all potions used for healing, enrichment, or nourishment. If I went looking for a bezoar, where might I find one?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet just felt done with this barely veiled form of bullying, she glared up at the professor, "I don't know, </span>
  <em>
    <span>sir. </span>
  </em>
  <span>But I'm pretty sure I know someone who does." Hermione was practically vibrating next to her, and there were quite a few quiet chuckles that went around the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Snape sneered, "Five points from Gryffindor for your cheek. A bezoar is a stone one can find in the stomach of a goat and can neutralize most poisons." He turned to the rest of the class and snapped, "Well, why haven't you dunderheads been writing this all down?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Snape whipped himself to the front of the classroom again, Lavender leaned forward to whisper to Harriet, "No, really, </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> you piss in his tea?"</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm going to take a page from the Matrix and say "Somethings never change...and some things do"</p><p>Thank you for the kudos! It makes me feel A. MAZING.</p><p>Next chapter, Makeovers! Hermione learns to chill the fuck out! And things get more canon divergent! Harry however does not get less judgemental...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Harriet and the Sleepover</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank to the amazing Anra7777! Who gave me great advice and is magic at grammar!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was the Friday evening after their first week of school and the first year Gryffindor girls were heading back up to the dorms after dinner in the Great Hall. As they crawled through the portrait hole, Lavender complained, "I'm so glad this week is over. This school thing is for the birds."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione looked scandalized, but Harriet interjected, "Same here. Can I sleep for like a month? Especially with all these stairs."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender grinned widely, "For our first weekend? No way! We've got to have fun."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati smiled widely, "You seem to have something in mind."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender put her arms out wide, "Makeover sleepover party!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati clapped her hands in front of herself with a small squeal of excitement, and Harriet grinned in her own excitement. Her first sleepover party! Harriet heard about such things but never thought she'd get to attend one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Hermione huffed, "Is it a sleepover if we already are staying in the same room. Besides, we need to complete all the homework and required reading we've been given. It's obvious to me that you all will fall behind easily."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They climbed up the stairs to the girls dorms and Lavender frowned, putting her hands on her hips, "Don't be such a stick in the mud. Sleepovers are special! And practically required!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As they opened the first years’ room, Hermione continued her complaint, "I don't understand the fixation on such a hyper gendered ritual. What is the point?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender growled, "Fine! You're not invited!" and slammed the door in Hermione's face, leaving her alone in the hallway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They heard her muffled shout through the door, "Why did you do that?! I could have been injured!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender yelled at the door, "You've got enough of a big head! I'm sure you could spare some!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They heard Hermione stomp away. There was a beat of silence and Harriet opened her mouth to speak, but Lavender spun around defensively, "She's so bloody condescending. She never stops. I shouldn't have to justify having fun. I shouldn't have to justify a damn thing. She can take all her bloody books and whatever has got that stick up her bum and shove it!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati put her arms on Lavender's shoulders gently, "It's okay, Lav."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender herself took a deep breath and nodded in determination, "Yeah. Yeah! We're not going to ruin our sleepover with some stick in the mud." Parvati nodded firmly in response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender started pulling stuff out of her trunk, much looked to be makeup and bottles of various kinds. Parvati went to help and cooed, "Oh! You have the new Au de Sorcerie! I've wanted to order it for months!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet opened her mouth to speak, closed it again, and then opened it to say, "Sure. Um. Can you guys get started without me?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati waved her away, giving a bit of a pointed look at the girls' door over Lavender's head. Harriet nodded in understanding and left the room. As much as she was excited for her first ever sleepover, it just didn't feel right without Hermione. She was one of the first kind people she'd met, and even though she could be as condescending as Lavender claimed, it was hard to believe that Hermione truly felt she was more important than anyone else around her. She just had communication problems, and if Harriet could relate to anything, she could relate to that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now, where could Hermione go?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet made it back down to the common room and looked around. There were a handful of students milling about, but none that she knew and didn't much feel like putting up with more odd looks and whispers. The first year boys were hanging around one of the fireplaces and despite being useless, seemed a decent lot and weren't whispering about her. She was bloody sick of the whispering.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey, have any of you seen Hermione recently?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The black kid, Don? No, it was Dean, replied, "Not recently. What's up?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet waved her hand, "Just need to talk to her. Thanks, though."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of the Weasley boys, the one in her year, she had gotten their name thanks to having four people with distinctive red-hair in Gryffindor and Melody complaining about the fifth year one, Percy, sharing prefect duties, and being "a right wanker" according to her. The first year Weasley said, "I just got here, myself. I thought I might have seen her in one of the alcoves outside."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet perked up, "Really? Where?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Weasley boy stood up, "I can show you if you'd like. I can't even give half decent directions and the castle is confusing enough as is." He gave her a self-deprecating grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet grinned back, "Hey, thanks."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They crawled out of the portrait hole, and Harriet said, "Sorry if I haven't introduced myself. I'm Harriet."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Weasley boy tilted his head, "Not Harry?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet rubbed the back of her neck, "Sort of? Harry is fine. I don't mind it. I've only known my name to be Harriet though. Maybe I might give up and just be Harry."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Huh. Well I guess I've been called worse. I'm Ron. Ron Weasley."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet laughed a bit, "I figured out the Weasley thing actually."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ron whinged, "Let me tell you, living with five older brothers ain't no picnic. I don't even get to be the baby of the family as I have a little sister. It's a giant pain in the you-know-what."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet laughed a bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So what's going on with Hermione?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet frowned in concern and rubbed the back of her neck again, "I don't know, really. Hermione seems alright but she hasn't really...meshed I guess with the others."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ron crossed his arms, "Well, I'd have trouble meshing with someone who thinks they're better than the rest of us."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet frowned, "I don't think she truly feels that way…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, if that's true she had a shite way of showing it. But I'll take your word for it. Maybe if she calmed down a bit, you know? Relax some. She'd come off better."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're not wrong…" Harriet trailed off. They walked in silence until they heard the faint sound of sniffling. Ron silently pointed to an alcove and made a complicated hand gesture involving a salute, a thumbs up, and some odd hand waving that Harriet couldn't identify. It didn't stop her from nodding and waving as Ron turned around and left to give them some privacy. She definitely changed her view on the guy. He didn't seem so bad, especially since potential gossip was so easily found. Respect for privacy was definitely a nice trait.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet hesitantly approached the alcove and gently said, "Hermione?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bushy haired girl sniffed quickly and rubbed at her nose, as if trying to hide her crying, "H-Harriet?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She smiled gently and took a seat next to her, "Hey. You okay?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione opened her mouth briefly, but seemed to rethink what she was going to say before actually saying, "No. Not really."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Want to talk about it?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione rubbed her fingers along the hem of her robe, "I didn't mean to be rude…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet smiled gently, "I figured you didn't."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione sniffed again, tearing up, "I was so excited. So very excited when I found out I could do magic. I wanted to learn as much as I could. It's all so fascinating. And reading up on the castle and history and...and...and it’s a whole other world! There's so much deep culture and lore. So many things!" Harriet couldn't tell if she was tearing up because of sadness or not anymore. Hermione's eyes looked so very excited, until they dropped back down to the floor in disappointment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"But I can't manage to fit in. I'm a misfit here too."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet nudged her shoulder gently, "Hey, I'm uncomfortable too. I'm practically a muggleborn as well, despite having a wizard and witch for parents. And the whispering is really bloody annoying."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione rubbed her nose with a small guilty smile, "I've noticed that."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet grumbled, "Really bloody annoying. But either way, Hermione. You've been bril to me and I think you're amazing. You have a wicked memory, and you're strong and you want to do the right thing even if it's annoying and a giant pain. To be honest, I might ask for your help in class. I'm pants at this magic stuff."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione smiled a little embarrassed, "Thanks, Harriet."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet grinned wider.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione took a bit to wipe her face completely before sighing and looking up at the top of the alcove, "I wish I could get along with others as well as you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet hummed and asked, "Mmm...I think they're just intimidated a bit."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"A bit?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet laughed, "Yeah. You can come off as intense, you know. But everyone knows you're smart. I guess you don't need to go out of your way to prove it. Plus it wouldn't hurt to relax a little. I know this sleepover thing isn't your cup of tea, but see it from Lavender's perspective. She wants to do something fun with us, and even if you might not think of it that way, it didn't feel great to have someone get all negative about it, you know?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione stared down at the hem of her robe that she was fidgeting with, "I was kind of intimidated earlier. I've never been to a sleepover before."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet said, "Well, neither have I."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Really?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shook her head, "Nope. Always wanted to. Never got the chance before."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione smiled, "Same here."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet stood up and held out her hand, "I'm sure if you talk to Lavender, she'd have you back. I know Parvati most likely will. If not, we can have our own sleepover party, okay?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione took her hand and stood too, smiling widely, "Alright."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They walked hand in hand, swinging slightly back to the common room. Hermione said softly with a small genuine smile, "Thank you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet just grinned and squeezed her hand in response. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lavender did in fact have Hermione back, especially after she apologized. When she admitted that she reacted the way she did because she had been scared due to never having gone to a sleepover before, Lavender squealed, dragged her in the room and then demanded that she get into her nightgown.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet grinned widely and followed suit without prompting to pull on her own nightshirt. Parvati gave her a hidden smile of thanks as Lavender produced another set of fuzzy slippers and asked Hermione which nail polish she desired for her toes. The rest of their time turned into one of Harriet's favorite memories. They each got their toes painted, that when charmed with the spell written on the bottle, would shift colors, sparkle, or turn on and off from clear to colored depending on the particular polish. While they started on a few of the hair potions Parvati had produced, they talked and shared about themselves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati came from a family with traditional expectations placed upon her. Work towards a respectable career, marry a nice Indian boy, and pop out some babies.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thankfully, I'm an identical twin. Padma has always been far more bookish than me, so we agreed early on to divide and conquer. She will focus on becoming the Healer in the family, and I'll make the grandbabies." She sighed and put her chin in her hand wistfully, "But I would love to have a whirlwind romance before then. Not that I don't trust whoever my parents and the matchmaker find someone for me, but a love marriage just seems so romantic."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender mirrored her own wistful sigh, "Wouldn't it be wonderful to be swept off your feet."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione looked like she was going to start some rant or another, but caught herself and asked significantly gentler, "Your parents and a matchmaker choose your husband? What's that like?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati smiled, "I know it's weird to Westerners, but it's a system that's worked forever. I tell my parents what I'm looking for in a husband. They and the matchmaker try to find what I'm looking for. If he meshes well with my family and me, then it's a match, and if he doesn't, they find someone new."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione hummed in thought, "So more of a dating service?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati nodded, "There are always terrible stories out there of some horrible fathers selling off their daughters to nasty old men, but most parents love their children and want them to be happy. They tend to know them and can figure out what sort of person they would get along with. They also filter out crappy candidates. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Not to say that there aren't bad matches on occasion. People are good at hiding their worst qualities, so you might find out later that your husband has a gambling problem or that your mother-in-law is abusive. But for the most part, divorce is much rarer in Indian culture."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione looked a little fascinated by it all, "So what will your sister do?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"She's never been into kids herself. Doesn't really get along with any of our cousins. I don't mind them myself, so we figured when it's time that we'll be able to please our parents together. She can focus on having a career and I'll take care of the kid aspect. And if she ends up having kids of her own, I'd be the one primarily raising them."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After that they turned to Lavender to share. Lavender had one older brother, half brother technically. He was far older and a fairly recent graduate of Hogwarts and doing secondary study of both Herbology and Magical Creatures in Brazil. Despite the distance in age and physical position on the planet, they remained quite close, often swapping letters. It explained the tropical bird dropping something off to her that morning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So what's with the half brother?" Harriet asked, as Parvati pulled another tangle out of her hair. With the help of the potion it surprisingly didn't hurt that much. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"My mum's first husband was one of You-Know-Who's first victims. Even though we're technically pureblood by most standards, my mum's side has ancestors who were muggleborn. We're quite proud of them."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet asked, "Really? Why are you so proud of them?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender paused to blow on Hermione's right hand. She had been painting the clear to color nail polish on it for her. A good choice for hiding it from teachers. After blowing on it for a few seconds, she stuck out her hand to Hermione, who handed her her left hand. Lavender bent down and got to work while replying, "It's a bit of a long story if you're up for it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet grinned, "I am." The other girls spoke their own agreements.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender began, "Well, one of my ancestors was born a slave on a tobacco plantation in the American South. He and his sister, Reed was his name and the sister was Ruth, were both muggleborn magical. Life was hard for muggle slaves then. Owners would split up families, beat people for the most minor of infractions, and of course work them half and sometimes completely to death.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Magical slaves? It was even worse. There was a community of magic slave owners, and if they knew you could perform magic, it was practically a death sentence. There were so many spells that took away a person's ability to think for themselves, much less escape. They got used as potion experiments, tasked with jobs that took people to magical core exhaustion, used as target practice for the white children to learn magic, and there was a popular belief at the time that of course we all know now that it's impossible to truly take one person's magic and make it your own, but that didn't stop the owners from trying."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione gasped and put a hand to her mouth. Lavender tutted, "Don't move your hand. It'll ruin the polish"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati, like the others, gave Lavender her full attention, and asked, "So what happened to your ancestors?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender dipped the brush into the bottle and pulled it back out to work on another of Hermione's fingers, "So my ancestor, Reed, had a great deal of magic. He of course had to learn everything on his own and wandless, but was still able to do so. Their true luck was in Ruth. She was a seer and a truly powerfully gifted one at that. With her sight, she had protected them from being detected as being magic in the first place, starting all the way from early childhood. Anytime potential danger came around outside of a beating or two from their muggle owners, Ruth would steer them to safety."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet was at the edge of her seat, and even Parvati had stilled her hands, three quarters of the way through Harriet's hair, "And then?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender added nonchalantly, "There came the day where she had seen they had to escape. The magical authorities were coming on to them, and she predicted they'd be found the very next morning if they didn't do something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So they left with the clothes on their backs, and an old willow branch that had essentially become Reed's wand. They got in touch with the muggle underground railroad and using that, Ruth's Sight, and some pretty powerful glamour spells, they managed to escape to freedom in Canada. Eventually they traveled from there to England, and we've been here ever since. Reed settled down and had kids, though Ruth never did."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender blew on Hermione's finished nails as nonchalantly as before, as if she hadn't completely blown their minds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione said shakily, "That. That's amazing!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender looked up at her, "Really? I mean, I always loved hearing some of the stories about the muggleborn siblings near misses as a kid, but it's not like I defeated You-Know-Who, you know?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet shook her head firmly, "No way! That really is amazing! I can't believe your relatives did that! Mine just got blown to smithereens by a madman."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati tugged at Harriet's hair, back to work smoothing it out, "Don't insult your ancestors. Not that I don't also agree that yours are absolutely amazing, Lav. But Harry, you come from a line to be proud of as well."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet grimaced a bit at the tugging, "I didn't mean it that way...I just wish I could hear more about the adventures of those two."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender laughed, "Well tough swelgoon pods. The whole point of the sleepover is for us to share about each other. Get to know one another, you know?" Lavender added, "Though I don't mind telling more about them next sleepover."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The three girls practically shouted their agreement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati asked Hermione, "Anything you want to share?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione looked a little startled but then got a fiercely determined look on her face, "There is actually."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The three all tilted forward in expectation, thanks to Hermione's seriousness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I...I was born differently than most people."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati asked, "Different how?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well… I'm not like most girls," Hermione bit her lip with determination.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender gasped, "Are you the werewolf I've been having dreams of?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This slipped Hermione completely off, "Werewolf??"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender nodded with all the seriousness in the world, "I've been having dreams about a werewolf ever since I was young. My mum says they're prophetic and a werewolf will have a great impact on my life. She told me it's Sight from my seer's blood."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione shook her head, "Um. No. I'm definitely not a werewolf."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender seemed a bit disappointed, "Oh."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati asked, "Well then what is it? I can think of twenty different magical disorders off the top of my head."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione shook her head fiercely, "It's not magically originated...or at least I don't </span>
  <em>
    <span>think</span>
  </em>
  <span> it is."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender said, "Well c'mon then. We haven't got all night." Parvati smacked her shoulder lightly in rebuke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione took a deep breath, "I'm a girl… but I have a penis rather than a vagina."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a beat of silence before Harriet said "Huh?" And the other two simultaneously went, "Oh, is that all?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet and Hermione both looked a bit shocked at Parvati and Lavender's lackluster reaction. Lavender just waved a hand, "Getting us all worked up over nothing."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati gently reminded, "She is a muggleborn."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh yeah."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione asked, "So, it really isn't a big deal?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Pff. Happens all the time. There are all sorts of potions to take care of that sort of thing. There are even a few people that switch gender every week just for fun. I wouldn't recommend it though. Supposedly the potions taste quite nasty and can mess with your fertility if you switch back and forth too often. Better to pick one and stick with it if you want children."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione looked shocked but in a grandly hopeful way, "I can do that? Really?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender asked with an eyebrow raised, "What. The potion? Or the have-children-thing?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Both!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender huffed, "Well of course you can."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati interjected, pulling in her very useful moderating force, "Magical society can sometimes be rather obsessed with breeding, so they've created ways for pretty much anyone to have a baby. Women with women. Men with men. As long as you have enough magic, nearly anyone can have children. Now the vast majority of people tend to pair up the traditional way, but needs must and magic finds a way."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione asked, "How do you know so much about this?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati shrugged, "The Statue of Secrecy takes a different form in India. The line between Muggle and Magic isn't quite so deep. I have quite a few muggle relatives and know quite a bit about muggle culture, or at least Indian muggle culture."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was all completely blowing Harriet's mind. A part of her wished her aunt and uncle could hear this conversation. They would have kittens. She grinned at the thought of their imaginary indignation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender waved a hand, "Well as disappointing it is that you're </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> a werewolf, Hermione," Hermione herself huffed but didn't truly look put out in the least, in fact she looked a bit affectionate, "we still need to hear from Harry. So Harry, spill!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh. Uh, I don't know anything about my family, and you all already know about my lightning scar…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati clapped her hands, "Oh yes! I did promise I'd tell you about them didn't I."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet sat up a little straighter and Parvati hummed before grabbing a piece of parchment and quill from her trunk and drawing what looked like a rudimentary family tree. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So I don't know much about the Potters exactly, or at least past your great grandparents, but they were potion makers in Britain for a long time. One of what the people around here call the Sacred 48, which are the oldest Wizarding families in Britain."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender scoffed, "So imperialistic."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati nodded, "But anyways,  the Potters were for the most part a good sort and produced some very talented potions masters."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati started filling in names on the chart, "Now your Indian relatives came to England from the Jharkhand region of India with your great grandparents, Intekhab and Zoya. They produced magical cloth and were also skilled merchants. They spent a great deal of time working with the Potters in selling their potions. Your great-grandparents, the Rubabs, had one daughter, Zeba and the Potters had one son, Fleemont. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had a love marriage and had one son, James, your father, who married your mother, a muggleborn Lily Evans."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet looked at the chart trying her best to absorb it all, "So, I'm a quarter Indian?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati nodded, "Supposedly your grandfather was deeply in love with your grandmother. The hair potion you're using was actually one of his inventions to help tame the family hair."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet smoothed at her own hair in awe. It had never been sleek, nor shiny before and was usually a completely unmanageable mess.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati said, "It's one of the first half decent hair potions for anyone with thick Asian hair in the western world. It became so popular that he produced a whole line of them. This is called Fleemont's Specialia."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender interjected, "I use Fleemont's Sleekeasy when I'm feeling in a smoother mood, but there's nothing like Fleemont's Supremoist for keeping African hair manageable and moist."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione looked at Lavender's hair appraisingly, "Could I get some of that too? The moist one?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender looked delighted, "I've got some here! Let me help you with it! We could do braids! Ooh my hair doesn't get the same volume as yours. Can I just play with it and see where we go?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione smiled and nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati continued, "I'm pretty sure both your parents and grandparents were all in Gryffindor together."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Really? Wow…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati nodded and then hummed in thought, "You know, I wouldn't be shocked if Professor McGonagall had pictures in her office."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet sat up in excitement, "You think so?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati nodded, "It's not that late. I don't think she'd mind if we stopped by."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet couldn't have stood faster, though she turned to Lavender and Hermione, who was already applying the hair potion to her bushy locks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione waved her off, "We'll be fine here."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet nodded and Parvati left the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As they walked Harriet said, "Thanks for this, Parvati. I really had no idea about any of this."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati scoffed, "That's a real tragedy to be honest. What is up with your muggle relatives? They sound awful!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet hummed, "They kind of are…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati looked like she wanted to ask more, but Harriet couldn't bring herself to talk about something that would bring down the mood of the night. This had been some of the most fun she'd ever had and couldn't imagine spoiling it by talking about her relatives.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They walked in silence until they reached McGonagall office. Just as they were about to knock on the door, they heard Professor Snape's voice muffled but certainly audible from inside exclaim, "You can't be serious, Minerva."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was the sound of the clinking of glasses before McGonagall said, "Completely."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Potter was barely a hat stall."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>McGonagall sounded fond, "I know she wasn't on the same level as Miss Granger, but you have to admit that the hat took a while with Miss Potter."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Snape scoffed, and there was the faint sound of drinking and the clink of glasses before he continued, "But Slytherin? I think not."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>McGonagall hummed, "I'm still not convinced about James. He was a hat stall as well. I think the hat wanted to put him in Slytherin too."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Snape scoffed louder, "There is no way James Potter could have ever been a Slytherin."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"As if you were never the brunt of his tricks and overall sneakiness," McGonagall quipped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was silence for a bit before McGonagall added gently, "You do know she is not her father."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Of course she is! She is arrogant and disrespectful! She thinks she can just ride on her fame rather than put in even one day of real hard work and effort. She is the spitting image of her father!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>McGonagall said gently, almost fond, "You know she had </span>
  <em>
    <span>two </span>
  </em>
  <span>parents."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was another moment of silence before Harriet and Parvati practically jumped at the sound of a sob, and Professor Snape in a wet voice said, "She has Lily's eyes, Minerva."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Shhh. I know Severius. I know."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sobbed out, "She has her eyes…I can't. It's too much..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Shhh...shhh. It's okay. I miss Lily too."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was more shuffling and crying coming from the office and Parvati and Harriet silently decided to return to the common room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On the way back, Harriet said in a far away voice, "Well at least we know that rumor about Snape and McGonagall being friends is true…"</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I love that Jo wrote virtually nothing about these ladies, so I can write ~Whatever I Want~! </p><p>Don't you be insulting seers around Lavender. </p><p>I hope Snape didn't feel too OOC. But it wasn't hard for me to imagine that at the first opportunity to get drunk, he'd feel overwhelmed with seeing Harry for the first time. Plus Minerva's scotch is reliably good and strong.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Harriet and the Stack of Photos</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Parvati didn't tell anyone what they observed outside McGonagall's office, and neither did Harriet. She was thankful Parvati kept her tongue, especially with someone so interested in gossip as Lavender and she really didn't want anyone knowing such things.</p><p>That said, it gave her a lot to think about.</p><p>There was one very annoying thing that hadn't changed overnight. Draco Malfoy approached them with a new insult at breakfast, what was probably a previously planned barb about Harriet's hair. Draco Malfoy discovered that when she turned around, said hair was still smooth and sleek from her grandfather's potion the night before.</p><p>Draco has stuttered and blushed a bit before biting out, "Looks like you managed to fix your hair. Next, you better fix your face, Potter."</p><p>"Oh? So that's what you used your money for? To fix yours?" Harriet bit back.</p><p>Draco Malfoy glowed and threatened, "You don't know who you're messing with."</p><p>Harriet tilted her head in mock thought, "You know, maybe you should get a refund. Your face is still sour and nasty. Seems they didn't do a good job."</p><p>"Better than to have the only redeeming feature be an ugly scar."</p><p>Harriet frowned and couldn't think of a good retort in time for Draco to laugh in what seemed the most stereotypical mock.</p><p>"Piss off, Malfoy."</p><p>Draco Malfoy flipped her hair over her shoulder, "As long as you know your place, Scarhead."</p><p>Eleven may have been young to properly use such derogatory hand gestures, but if she couldn't have parents, why not take advantage of it.</p><p>The Pug, the Thug, and the...Harriet still couldn't think up a good something to call Draco Malfoy, either way the three spun on their heels giggling all the way back to the Slytherin table.</p><p>Whatever. Harriet had more important things to think about. Her mind turned back to the events of the previous evening.</p><p>It was comforting to know that Snape didn't hate Harriet per se, just her father. And she'd heard ad nauseum that she looked very much like him, outside of her eyes. Speaking of, he cared deeply for her mother? Was Professor Snape's treatment of her just really poorly handled grief? It was hard not to think that way with the sound of the sobbing man echoing "She has Lily's eyes," in her memory.</p><p>All of this speculation on Harriet's part had a bit of an odd effect. Next Potions class, Harriet didn't react with the same vehement anger at the bullying, and instead just looked at Professor Snape with confusion when he sneered and criticized her for her poor technique at squeezing helius pods, and not warning Neville that he had added his ingredients in the wrong order. She just looked at him puzzled and a little hurt. If he cared about his mother so much, why was he treating her so poorly. She wished could talk to him about her mother. She wanted all the information she could get!</p><p>It seemed to throw the man off because the following class, he only sniped at her once, and didn't even take points off. He just spun away and didn't look at Harriet's bemused and pained face for the rest of the class.</p><p>The following potions lesson he didn't speak nor even acknowledge Harriet's existence at all.</p><p>Even Quirrell, despite not looking her in the face, would respond to her answers. DADA had its own set of problems, however, and Harriet was really pondering if she might need to go to Madam Pomfrey's for some treatment for the garlic smell. The headaches that happened during class were really irritating and borderline invasive.</p><p>Despite all this, Harriet had been having an excellent week. Charms and Transfiguration were fascinating and fun, and Harriet had real friends for the first time in her life. Things were brilliant! However the fourth Potions class since the 'Sobbing Snape' incident was particularly eventful. </p><p>Snape was purposefully ignoring Harriet's existence and Harriet herself was puttering away at a potion meant to pour on fruit trees to give the fruit healing properties, and also turn it blue for some reason Harriet didn't know, but was sure Hermione did, when it happened. Harriet was busy stirring clockwise 11 times and was on the 8th rotation, when a small something flew in from somewhere and plopped into her cauldron.</p><p>Harriet thought she imagined it for a second, and stared into the orange tinged potion before Boom! Harriet winced at the noise and closed her eyes and put her hands up which was fortunate as she immediately felt wet and sticky and then half a second later her face and hands burned. The potion must have exploded and caught Harriet all over. She was at least grateful she closed her eyes in time. This stuff didn't feel awesome.</p><p>Professor Snape's voice rang out, "Miss Granger! Go wash your hair immediately," oh, good. Hermione didn't get much on her, "and Mr. Longbottom. Take Miss Potter to the infirmary immediately. As you certainly know the way by this point. Wear your gloves." Harriet could practically hear the sneer in his voice.</p><p>Harriet felt a cloth placed over her face and a hand tug on her arm, leading her out of the classroom. </p><p>"Are you okay?" Neville said next to her, obviously the one holding her arm and guiding her down the corridor.</p><p>"Can't say I'm steller, but it doesn't hurt too bad. What happened to me? I don't want to open my eyes."</p><p>"You got hit by your own potion. You've got red welts all over the front of you and your hands."</p><p>"Do you think it'll go away?"</p><p>Neville's voice brightened significantly, "Oh yes. Madam Pomfrey is amazing. She's fixed me up loads of times now."</p><p>Harriet winced a bit. Maybe she should check up on Neville once in a while. He seemed to have been having a bad go at Hogwarts so far.</p><p>Harriet changed the subject, "Did you put the cloth on my face?"</p><p>"No. That was Professor Snape. I wonder why. He's never done that for me."</p><p>"Huh…"</p><p>When they arrived Neville explained what happened and Madam Pomfrey flew into action, directing Neville to guide Harriet to what felt like a cot of some kind.</p><p>"And you haven't opened your eyes even once, dear?"</p><p>Harriet shook her head, eyes still firmly closed as Madam Pomfrey took the cloth from her face.</p><p>"Good. That's very good thinking, Miss Potter. The damage would have been far more extensive otherwise. Good job, Longbottom, to put and keep the cloth over her face."</p><p>Whatever denial Neville tried to make was lost by Pomfrey spinning away. Harriet heard the clinking of bottles a bit aways.</p><p>When Pomfrey's voice returned, she set the bottles to the side and said, "You may return to class, Mr. Longbottom. Thank you for your help."</p><p>Neville said, "See ya, Harry."</p><p>Harriet raised a sore hand and winced a bit, before Pomfrey scolded, "That's enough of that."</p><p>Some cooling solution was rubbed on her face with a soft cloth. Harriet felt better immediately and sighed in relief.</p><p>"Sorry dear. I should have given you a pain solution first."</p><p>"No no. It's fine." In comparison to the headaches she got from the garlic smell in DADA, or the beatings she had received from Uncle Vernon or Dudley, it was nothing. Plus the solution she was smearing on her wounds felt lovely.</p><p>Speaking of headaches, Harriet figured it was a good time to ask, "Madam Pomfrey? This doesn't really have anything to do with this, but do you have anything for headaches?"</p><p>"Are you experiencing one right now?"</p><p>"No no. Just during DADA. I think the garlic smell is getting to me."</p><p>Pomfrey took another couple swipes around her eyes and face and said, "You can open them, dear. Can you tell me how much pain you are in now, scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the worst pain imaginable."</p><p>Harriet opened her eyes. Madam Pomfrey was an older witch with hair pulled up into a severe bun. She had kind eyes that didn't quite look as gentle as one would think. Harriet felt this was a woman that was trustworthy but shouldn't be crossed. Similar to Professor McGonagall in a way. Harriet remembered the question and shrugged, "Two, I guess."</p><p>"Hmm," Pomfrey swiped the pink looking gel along her hands, and the red boils shrank to nothing, leaving red and angry looking but thankfully smooth skin behind, "And what number would it be for these headaches?"</p><p>"Four or five, maybe? Sometimes I get really sharp pain that feels like an eight."</p><p>"And where does the ache locate primarily?"</p><p>Harriet used her recently healed hand to pull the fringe up off her forehead. She pointed to her lightning shaped scar.</p><p>Madam Pomfrey took the smallest of gasps, and asked with great concern, "Your killing curse scar?"</p><p>Harriet nodded, a little worried. She didn't expect that sort of reaction, "Is there something wrong?"</p><p>Madam Pomfrey didn't answer and just continued to swipe the pink goo along the rest of Harriet's boils, "And the scar pain comes primarily?"</p><p>"During Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Is something wrong, Madam Pomfrey?"</p><p>Pomfrey shook her head, "At the moment, no. You're fine. But I wish to do a little more research. Would you be willing to come see me next time you are in pain? It will help me greatly get to the source."</p><p>Harriet nodded, not quite knowing what got her concerned so much. She thought headaches were fairly common, even if it was unusual that it resided on her scar.</p><p>Madam Pomfrey finished with the pink gel solution and cleaned up the cloth and bottle. She opened up a different potion, this one a bit foul smelling but with a sharp herb scent, as she wiped it along Harriet's skin, the redness slowly faded, as if the skin was growing another layer over the harsh red one. Perhaps that was exactly what it was doing.</p><p>"You'll stay here for the remainder of the day and will most likely be released to your room this evening."</p><p>Harriet didn't speak as Pomfrey wiped the potion on her face. It tingled a little as it worked.</p><p>After Pomfrey was done, Harriet was left alone with her thoughts. Most of them were drifting to the question of Professor Snape. He had protected her eyes just now, despite very obviously avoiding her. So does he care? Or does he not? Not that she didn't appreciate it in comparison to his previous behavior, but Harriet was just left further confused. Adults were confusing.</p><p>It seemed Harriet was lost pondering the enigma that was Professor Snape long enough that dinner had appeared beside her bedside table. She chewed the turkey sandwich blankly before she heard some familiar voices and Madam Pomfrey saying, "She's in the back, but don't get her over-excited. She is still healing."</p><p>Lavender burst into the room followed by Hermione and much more sedate Parvati.</p><p>"Harry! Oh, god. I'm glad you're okay! You look okay. You're okay, right?"</p><p>Harriet chuckled a little, her heart felt warm at her friend's concern, "Yeah, I'm alright. Are you okay, Hermione? I couldn't tell if you got hit or not. I closed my eyes just in time."</p><p>Hermione swiped at a spot on the back of her head, there was a place that seemed almost singed, "Just this. I had been turned around at the time. I was able to wash it off before it did too much damage."</p><p>Lavender cooed, "We were talking about trimming it up next sleepover anyway. Don't worry. We'll make you look absolutely fabulous, Hermione."</p><p>Harriet nodded and sighed in relief. She figured it couldn't have been too bad or Hermione would be sent up here too, but it was nice to have that confirmation. Harriet felt at her own hair. Not singed at all...maybe Pomfrey put something on it, as well.</p><p>Lavender sat down and was practically vibrating with excitement, "So Harry, I have to tell you what happened after you left."</p><p>"Hmm?" Harriet bit into her sandwich.</p><p>"So it turns out Malfoy was the one that chucked something into your cauldron. Professor Snape saw there were some ingredients on her station that shouldn't be there."</p><p>"Rainbow scarabs," Hermione interjected. </p><p>"Yeah. That. Either way, he asked her to stay after class. Turns out he gave her a detention! Two days!" Lavender was very enthused by this.</p><p>Harriet just felt confused, not by Draco Malfoy being the culprit, but why wouldn't she be punished? She swallowed her bite of sandwich and said, "Uh. Okay."</p><p>Parvati interrupted, "Professor Snape favors the Slytherins. It usually has to take something really big to get him to truly punish one outright."</p><p>Lavender nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah. And Malfoy is his goddaughter, so there's that too."</p><p>"His goddaughter? Really?"</p><p>"He must have been truly angry to punish a Slytherin, much less her, much less his goddaughter," Parvati explained.</p><p>"Wouldn't the goddaughter thing be enough?" Hermione asked. Harriet was thinking much the same.</p><p>"Draco Malfoy is a… person of particular notoriety. She was born from both the Malfoys and the Blacks, two of the richest and most notable magical families in Britain," Parvati said with her usual eloquence.</p><p>Lavender interjected with her own gossip, "Actually I heard she is due to be sole heir of both, though the Black inheritance is still a little sticky, with the prominent members in Azkaban. But they declared her Malfoy heir despite being a girl. Whoever she marries will have to take the Malfoy name."</p><p>Harriet tilted her head, "Azkaban?"</p><p>Parvati interrupted Lavender, "The Wizarding prison for serious criminals. But we're getting off topic. Draco Malfoy has more money and influence than most. Not many would dare to cross her. If she wants something, she nearly always gets it."</p><p>Harriet crossed her arms defensively, "Like hell I'm ever going to back down from that bitch."</p><p>Parvati gave an affectionate, but exasperated sigh.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"I was just thinking, that you're the best thing that has happened to the Desi community of Britain in a long time."</p><p>"Huh? Desi?"</p><p>"People of Indian descent, living elsewhere. And just that I'm glad you're both willing and able to stand up to a person like Draco Malfoy."</p><p>Harriet shrugged, "A bully is a bully."</p><p>Parvati gave another affectionate and exasperated sigh.</p><p> </p><p>The evening after being released from the infirmary and the next day went as normal as one would expect at a magical school. Classes were fascinating and using parchment and quills were novel, though there were points that Harriet missed a good old ballpoint pen.</p><p>Still Professor Snape's behavior and motivations and Parvati's hand drawn family tree of the Potters and Rubabs were still etched in her mind. The family tree itself had a special place folded reverently in the bottom of her trunk. Despite the less than pleasant memory, Harriet still wanted to have a go at possibly seeing a picture of some of her family, so one evening after dinner, she waved off from the other girls and headed to McGonagall's office.</p><p>There was no sound coming from the office outside of the scratch of quill on parchment, so Harriet felt safe to knock.</p><p>"Come in." Professor McGonagall's voice came through the door. </p><p>As Harriet entered, she saw that  Professor McGonagall was going through a stack of parchment with a quill dipped in a bottle of red ink. Essay corrections most likely. </p><p>"Good evening, Miss Potter. What can I do for you?"</p><p>Harriet fidgeted with her robes and said, "It's nothing important, there's nothing wrong really. I'm just wondering if you might have something I've been searching for."</p><p>Professor McGonagall intentionally set aside the parchment and folded her hands in front of her, giving Harriet her full attention, "And what is it exactly you are looking for?"</p><p>"Pictures of my parents and grandparents. I heard they were also in Gryffindor."</p><p>Professor McGonagall's eyes rose a touch in surprise, but settled into something a little more fond with a touch of pity. "Why, yes. I might have a few in my possession. Wait here a moment."</p><p>Harriet grinned brightly and nodded. She didn't truly know if Professor McGonagall might have some or not. </p><p>As she left the room from a door on the right side, Harriet looked around, taking in the space. There was McGonagall's desk carved with lion's feet, and a wing back in red velvet. A glass cabinet in the corner had a number of bottles inside with cut crystal glasses. The bookshelves lining the walls were oak with books of varying thickness and age held up by metal bookends decorated with acorn motifs. Movement on the bookshelves caught her eye and she approached what appeared to be a chessboard with pieces in white marble and obsidian. The pieces moved and appeared to be taunting each other, and a white pawn made an obscene gesture to the black pieces on the board, though when the chess set caught Harriet's eye, they straightened up, settling into the stances of perfect tiny soldiers.</p><p>"Have you played chess before, Miss Potter?"</p><p>Harriet nearly jumped in her skin at the surprise of Professor McGonagall's voice, she caught herself holding her heart and said shakily, "No, though I know of the game." Dudley had gotten a chess set for Christmas one year and it had lasted about 10 minutes before he'd grown bored of it and casted it off, thankfully mostly intact. Harriet had memorized the pieces and directions, but never got the chance to actually play the game.</p><p>McGonagall hummed, "That set is a product of my own creation. It's good practice if you're more of an experienced player. The black pieces will play a defensive game and the white an offensive game. I originally created it to help teach beginner's chess, but it has learned and improved over time. Now I myself lose to it about half the time."</p><p>Harriet thought she might have seen one of the black pawns wink at her. She decided instead of asking about that, to speak about her original goal, "Were you able to find anything?"</p><p>McGonagall nodded and placed 3 books on the desk. Two were in aged leather, one far older in appearance than the other. A third was in a cloth binding with white flowers embroidered on it. McGonagall opened the aged leather one first. </p><p>"There weren't many photos of your grandparents that I could find, during their time at school here, but I was able to find their graduation photos."</p><p>There was a group of about twenty students all late teens. They were grinning and bumping each other's shoulders, and there was one who knocked the tall wizard's hat off another, laughing and smiling. </p><p>McGonagall pointed to a white boy with brown hair and light hazel eyes, who had a kind face but a slightly mischievous and cunning look about him, "That is your grandfather, Fleemont Potter."</p><p>Harriet tried to memorize all he could about the young man. He had a casual elegance about him, obviously pleased that day. As Harriet sat and watched the picture move, there was a moment where he frowned and swatted at a fly in his face. Harriet laughed a bit.</p><p>McGonagall smiled kindly and turned two pages before showing a similar picture with a similar number of students, though the students themselves were different. She pointed to a girl who had darker skin than Parvati, with hair plaited and decorated with gold ornaments.</p><p>"That is your grandmother Zeba Rubab."</p><p>She was also elegant, but had a kind and gentle expression. It seemed one of her classmates had told her a joke as she laughed brightly. Dark swirls of some design were printed on her hands. That and all the gold accessories made for an interesting contrast to the uniform robes, a similar uniform to what Harriet was wearing right now.</p><p>McGonagall smiled gently and waited a bit before she opened the second leather bound book, "I have quite a few more pictures of your parents." She showed a picture of students of varying ages, there was a boy with glasses who looked to be not much older than herself with messy hair and dark twinkling eyes, similar to the mischief he saw in Fleemont's eyes from the last picture. They all were in odd robes with leather padding and each were holding brooms.</p><p>"Your father was on the Gryffindor quidditch team and was an excellent chaser. He eventually made team captain and had won me the cup. I remember quite a few points that professionals wouldn't have been able to perform."</p><p>"You knew my father?"</p><p>McGonagall smiled gently, "I taught both of your parents, Miss Potter."</p><p>"What were they like?"</p><p>"Well… your father was very… charismatic. He naturally was the center of attention wherever he went. If I'm honest, he had a bit of the personality of a spoiled prince. However he was nearly always good natured about it. Him and your mother didn't get along for a very long period of time. Fought like oil and water, if I'm honest. Lily was much more serious and studious and your father's lackadaisical attitude rubbed her the wrong way. He pursued her, and there were some that might think she had just been worn down by him, but I don't buy that myself. Your mother was an extremely capable witch that once determined, was equally extremely stubborn. I think she just realized she had more in common with James than she previously thought."</p><p>Harriet looked at the picture of the scruffy haired boy, absorbing every detail. McGonagall turned a few pages forward and pointed at a redheaded girl quite a few years older than Harriet herself, with a prefect badge pinned to her robes, smiling proudly at a boy with a more humble smile hidden among numerous facial scars. She had eyes Harriet had seen many times when she looked in a mirror. "So you knew them well?"</p><p>McGonagall replied modestly, "Well enough. They were my students and we were also on the same side during the war. I hope you never experience it, but war tends to bring out one's core character." McGonagall directed Harriet back to the page, "Your mother was a prefect and also head girl. As I told you, she was a very capable witch. Bright, hard working, and had a tremendously good heart. She really was the best of us in a way."</p><p>Harriet looked at the smiling girl, and imagined a life with her. She caught herself from tearing up too badly and coughed in her hand nonchalantly. Professor McGonagall politely didn't acknowledge it. Instead turning a few pages, to a picture of her mother only a few years older. Her father was equally aged. "They were both head boy and head girl."</p><p>Harriet tilted her head, "What happened to the scarred boy in the last photo? He was a prefect, right?"</p><p>Professor McGonagall nodded, "Remus Lupin, yes. Not that Remus wouldn't have made a fine head boy, but as I told you, James Potter was very charismatic. In a way he was already the leader of the entire school. Putting him in official capacity tied him down. He was a bit of a troublemaker if I say so myself. But being placed in a position of leadership forced him to grow up a bit. It did him a world of good. One of my better choices in recommending him to the position."</p><p>McGonagall pulled out the final album, the cloth one, "The other two are officially property of Gryffindor house, this is one of my personal albums."</p><p>She opened to a picture of a wedding. His mother and father were smiling widely at each other. There were her grandparents on both sides, both magical and muggle. All were smartly dressed, her grandmother was the only one not in English style formal wear. But she couldn't take her eyes off her mother. She was beautiful in a flowy sort of white dress and smiling as bright as the sun. There were a number of other people on both sides smiling and laughing. There was even that boy with facial scars being playfully teased by a man with black hair. Harriet spotted a much younger Professor McGonagall wearing a small smile.</p><p> </p><p>"It was a beautiful day and the ceremony was lovely. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. I believe this might have been one of the last pictures of your grandparents as all four died not long afterwards of natural causes."</p><p>Harriet felt like she could have stared at that photo alone for hours. However McGonagall turned a few pages and Harriet gasped. There was a picture of her mother and father holding a chubby and squirming baby.</p><p>"That was the picture they sent as a birth announcement. That is you, Miss Potter."</p><p>Eventually baby Harriet had calmed down in her parents arms. It seems it only took barely a few seconds before she fell asleep, her parents cooing at her affectionately.</p><p>This. This was too much. Harriet scrubbed furiously at her own eyes. She refused to cry in front of others like this.</p><p>Professor McGonagall politely didn't acknowledge Harriet's distress and only grabbed her wand, waving it a few times over the books. A small stack of photographs appeared on top of them.</p><p>Once Harriet had properly cleaned herself up, McGonagall handed her the stack of photos, "These are copies for you to keep."</p><p>"R-really? Thank you!" Don't cry again, Harriet. Don't cry.</p><p>McGonagall nodded sharply, "If you ever wish to hear more about them," she added in a more serious tone, "and you've completed all your work, I'll be here."</p><p>Harriet took that as her dismissal and bowed a little awkwardly, but said with a bright smile, "Thank you very much, Professor."</p><p>"Anytime, Miss Potter. Anytime."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you all are being safe out there. Happy Hanukkah to those that observe it!</p><p>Did you know is International Tea Day in India? Cheers! 🫖</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Harriet and the Rememberall</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Happy New Year! I hope you all have a much greater 2021 than 2020!</p><p>It's so much fun writing these snarky jagoffs.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Draco effing Malfoy couldn't have glowered deeper the following morning. When Harriet saw that blonde bitch grinding her teeth when she walked in, the utter hatred, the visible vein pulsing on her pale white neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet's breath caught in her throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It felt amazing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet's grin widened and turned into a smirk. She gave a little wave to nasty blonde bully and sauntered over to the Gryffindor tables with her friends around her, feeling like a million bucks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as she sat down, and started loading up her plate with some fried eggs and tomatoes, she felt and continued to feel all through breakfast, Malfoy's angry eyes focused on her. She smiled wider and cheerfully chatted up with the Gryffindor girls. The first year boys seemed particularly excited about something or another, though worryingly Neville was sitting alone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet asked, less than gracefully with a mouthful of fried eggs, "Hey, Neville. How's Trevor?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neville brightened substantially, either from the topic, or from conversation in general, "Oh he's great. I created a spot for him under my bed. My uncle who got him for me taught me a whole bunch of atmospheric charms to make him comfortable."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This caught Hermione's interest, "Atmospheric charms? Which ones?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Neville proceeded to describe each of them and how they would best suit Trevor, Harriet turned her attention elsewhere. She wondered if Malfoy was still glowering at her. The prickle on the back of her neck and a subtle glance at the Slytherins told her that she was. Malfoy was sourly bad-mouthing Harriet to the Pug and the Thug, whipping her wrist dramatically. Harriet could only grin in smug satisfaction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The mail arrived and a large blue macaw swooped down with a letter for Lavender, likely her brother. She squealed and handed a chunk of orange to the parrot before ripping into the letter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet was then distracted by a large and severe looking owl that landed with a box for Neville.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's from my gran!" Neville opened the accompanying note and then took out the contents of the package, a glass ball with murky grey clouds inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's a remeberall! It helps you remember things! Or at least it let's you know if you've forgotten something. If you've forgotten something- oh. Oh, dear." The murky grey clouds inside the ball turned a bright red. "Seems I have forgotten something after all."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet hadn't even heard her approach but sat up out of her seat when Draco Malfoy appeared and scooped the ball right out of Neville's hands, "What do you have here?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet frowned and was about to say something biting, when she sensed the faint swish of robes behind her and heard Professor Snape's voice, "Is there a problem here?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy frowned deeply for a moment, and then controlled her expression into disinterest, "Not at all. Just seeing if I could help pick up the trash around Gryffindor. School unity and all."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet might have seen Professor Snape's mouth twitch, but it could have been a trick of the light. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Better leave it to the house elves after all," Malfoy dropped the remeberall on the table. It made a loud thunk, but didn't appear to take any damage, and the blonde flicked her wrist dismissively and swished away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet looked at Professor Snape and gave a small nod of thanks, but he only looked at her curiously and without a single response, twisted away with a swish of robes. Harriet continued eating, and thought again about Professor Snape's behavior and potential motivations.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Draco cornered her in the corridor after breakfast, grabbed her by the collar of her robes and slammed her into the wall. Harriet's breath caught in surprise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't know what enchantment you managed to place on him, but it won't work. I'll make you pay for what you've done. You ugly muggle loving bitch," Malfoy's face was so close. Harriet could see her neck vein pulsing hard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're the one with the fucking problem, spoiled brat. You finally got a slap on the wrist from Professor Snape and it stings? Oh poor baby. Why don't </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> go cry to your mother. I'm sure she'd kiss your poor boo boo, you big fucking baby."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy pushed Harriet into the wall harder. She could see in the corner of her eye both the Gryffindor and Slytherin girls raising their wands even higher at each other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You will pay. You and your muggle loving friends."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Better than inbred. I'm surprised no one is missing an eye or has a third arm."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll find out what enchantment you placed on him and then you're going to pay."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet found the strength to push herself off of the wall, she smacked Malfoy's hands from her robes, "Whatever. Spend more time on your hair or whatever it is rich assholes do."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Better than that bird's nest you got going." Harriet didn't bother using her grandfather's potion again after the first sleepover. It took too much time and she didn't want to use Parvati's supply. Maybe she could order her own. Not worth it to think about at the moment though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Piss off, Malfoy."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ugly muggle lover," Malfoy ground out and stalked away, the Pug and Thug at her heels.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What a cunt."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione gasped, "Harriet! Such language!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet just looked at her, with her eyebrow raised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione looked back and then cowed a bit, "No. You're right. She is a bit of one, isn't she. But you're eleven!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet shrugged. Again, the no parents thing had it's occasional conveniences. "Whatever. Let's just get to class."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Professor Snape for the most part continued to not speak to Harriet in Potions, but he was back to at least looking at her. When she placed her completed potion on his desk, she knew it wasn't perfect, or at least in comparison to Hermione's, but it was definitely half decent. Professor Snape gave her a small nod of approval. Malfoy only continued to glower and slammed her shoulder and she stormed past.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet could only grin as they walked, half listening to the other Gryffindors talk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione was nervously looking in her book, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Quidditch Through the Ages.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender whined, "Do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> to, Hermione? There are just some things you can't get from a book."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well it doesn't hurt to be prepared."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Flying isn't a book thing," Lavender reasoned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet startled. She admittedly hasn't been paying much attention. They were learning flying today? Sounded like fun. Maybe that was why all the boys seemed particularly absorbed that morning, "Flying?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati flicked Harriet in the head affectionately, "Nice to see your head is already in the clouds. They announced it a week ago."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How do people manage flying?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"With brooms," Parvati explained, however briefly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Way to be stereotypical, witch on a broomstick," Harriet snorted, "though I did see some kids at Diagon Alley mooning over some broom or another. But most of them seemed to be boys. Do girls not really fly much?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati scoffed, "Of course not. Quidditch is and always has been an equal opportunity sort of sport."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Quidditch?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione held up her book, "Quidditch. It's quite popular, with a long history. Though the dynamics of the sport seem to favor Seekers. Personally I think the Snitch shouldn't be worth quite so many points."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender smooned, "I couldn't care less about the points. There are some very fit Quidditch players out there. Gregory Klema, the Beater from the Appleby Arrows is my favorite."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati laughed, "That and the Appleby uniforms are the most stylish in the league."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione rolled her eyes, but looked substantially less nervous, even setting her book away as they reached the doors for outside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a beautiful clear day, vaguely like autumn was around the corner, but still had some of the summer warmth. Harriet breathed it in and followed the others where a handful of students had already arrived and were gathering around a line of broomstick. Harriet noted that they also shared the class with the Slytherins and Malfoy looked poisonously at her, before flipping her hair around, joining back into conversation with a few of the Slytherin boys.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn't take long for their teacher, Madam Hooch, to arrive and explain the class, the rules, and start everyone on their first step to flying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet quite liked the feeling of the wood handle slapping into her palm, with a small rush of magic spreading through the broom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately before Harriet could get off the ground, Neville did, screaming and struggling before falling from about 10 feet up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hooch fussed over him before she muttered, "Broken ankle," and then addressed the rest of the class, "I'll be taking Mr. Longbottom to the infirmary. I had better not see a single one of you in the air. Not. A. Single. One." She proceeded to help Neville hobble away back into the castle, who admittedly was being rather stoic about his injury. Harriet was vaguely impressed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once they had disappeared, Draco Malfoy bent down to the spot Neville had fallen and lifted up a glass ball, grey and swirling, the remeberall. She lifted it up with a smirk, tossing it carelessly in her hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet stomped over with her broom in hand, "That's not yours."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy had a nasty grin on her face, her grey eyes were glinting, "Just picking up Gryffindor trash."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet struck out her hand to grab it, but Malfoy was taller and her reflexes weren't too shabby, and lifted it out of reach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Too slow, midget," she taunted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The broom in Harriet's hand vibrated a bit and she decided there was one way to get a little higher. She mounted her broom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy's face changed immediately, dropping in slight fear as Harriet took off, hovering no more that two feet off the ground, but it was enough to give her the height, and aimed straight for the ball held up high.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy barely dodged. Harriet tried again, literally flying circles, trying her best to grab the ball out of the blonde's hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy grabbed her own broom and took off, the ball clutched to her chest, one handed. Harriet followed, up in the air, dogging her heels. Malfoy was frustratingly good at dodging, Harriet just barely missed her, each time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They rose higher and higher, Harriet could vaguely hear her classmates chastising her far far below.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>From this high up, Malfoy had gained back her confidence, "Didn't think you much cared about a squib's dirty things."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Give it back or I'll knock you off your broom." They were </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> high up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy looked fearful for a split second before she was back to her usual taunting, "Are you so poor you need this trinket? Maybe you could sign some poor sycophants some autographs to make a little money."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's not yours. Didn't your mother ever teach you not to be an utter cunt?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why? Didn't yours?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet made a grab for it again, and Malfoy dodged. She laughed nastily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet growled, "Bite me, bitch."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy looked a touched confused, "B-bite you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah! Bite me! Bite my ass!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The blonde just looked horrified, "Y-your, what? Why would I bite you? There?!" Her cheeks and nose turned a pink color.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet made a grab for the ball again, and this time Malfoy startled, dropping the ball.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet didn't hesitate and aimed straight down, urging her broom to go faster. The wind was whipping her face and she felt the magic of the broom trying to give its all. She was a few feet from the ground before her fist clenched around the ball, and pulled up the broomstick handle sharply. Her feet scraped the ground, leaving divots in the grass, but Harriet was for the most part untouched.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Gryffindor first years, both boys and girls crowded around her cheering and praising her abilities before a sharp voice sounded heading towards them from the castle, "Never in all my life!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Professor McGonagall stomped straight for her, the thrill and joy of being up the air crashed in an instant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I have never seen such heights of utter recklessness! Barely eleven and you could have severely injured yourself and your fellow classmates!" Harriet could see in her peripheral vision Malfoy landing softly a bit off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Miss Potter. Come with me,” Professor McGonagall spat out and stomped away back to the castle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet was in for it. She didn't have to worry about her relatives being too upset about a detention or a letter from the teacher about her poor behavior, but what if she was expelled? She'd have to go back! Maybe she could study magic by herself in her cupboard somehow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>More confusing though, McGonagall pulled an older boy from Charms and directed them both to her office, never addressing Harriet with a single word the entire way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After she had shut the door, she turned to the boy, "Wood, I found you a Seeker."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy's face lit up, brighter than the sun and turned towards Harriet, grabbing her hands firmly, "Really?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>McGonagall nodded seriously, "I witnessed Miss Potter perform a Dobrahoff Catch on the school's old cleansweeps with my own two eyes."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy, Wood, glanced briefly at Harriet's fringe covered forehead before grinning again and asked excitedly, "So, Potter. How do you feel about Quidditch?"</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Harriet and the Bucket of Beets</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks again to Anra7777, who reads all my crap before hand, and isn't even in this fandom much anymore.</p><p>Friendship is magic.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"So you're the youngest seeker?"</p><p>"In a century," Harriet finished. Parvati was smearing some thick dark looking gunk on Harriet's face. They were having another sleepover party with the expectation to repeat it monthly. Lavender had already smeared the same stuff on Hermione's face and Hermione was returning the favor.</p><p>Harriet continued, "My dad was also a Quidditch player: a Chaser." Harriet remebered the pictures she had stared at many many times, practically looking at them nightly, and felt a little bit stupid not to have known more about flying. She just never quite made the connection. She had figured the brooms were supposed to hit something, maybe, not fly on. The magical world was odd enough.</p><p>Parvati nodded, satisfied with the job, and handed the jar to Harriet, tilted forward, and closed her eyes in expectation. Harriet started to smear the wet mud-like substance with two fingers along her cheeks. Supposedly it cleared pores, exfoliated dead skin, but also helped balance chakras, and had mild radiance charms that soaked into the skin. Only mild because if one used it too much or too often, they'd glow like a lamppost.</p><p>"Are you going to get a new broom?" Lavender asked, as Hermione precisely placed the mud across the bridge of her freckled nose.</p><p>"Yeah. McGonagall gave me a catalog. Could I get your help choosing one? I can't make heads or tails of them."</p><p>Hermione and Parvati expressed their willingness, though Lavender just grinned a little wickedly, "You're going to make such a scene when it arrives by owl."</p><p>Harriet frowned, "I don't want even more unnecessary attention."</p><p>Lavender scoffed, "Oh, like I haven't seen you enjoy arguing with Miss Malfoy. She'd be fuming to find out you got in the quidditch team thanks to her efforts."</p><p>Harriet hummed in thought. That might be worth it. But no. "No thanks. Maybe I could get it delivered to McGonagall's office or something."</p><p>Lavender pouted, "Aw, you're no fun."</p><p>Harriet grinned wickedly, "I could find other ways to make her angry."</p><p>Parvati rolled her eyes, "You do realize Draco Malfoy is actually ridiculously wealthy and has quite a bit of sway."</p><p>Harriet scoffed, "She deserves a punch in the face." Maybe it wasn't a bad thing Harriet was famous, because it gave her more than enough leverage to not lose an ounce of sleep over how rich and powerful that bitch was. Fuck her and fuck any other bully out there. She absolutely deserved a punch in the face.</p><p>The face masks were finished and Hermione handed out sliced cucumbers, chilled by a quick spell. Everyone laid back on their spots on the floors, with numerous pillows and blankets nesting them.</p><p>Harriet closed her eyes, tucking her arms behind her head, making sure the cucumbers weren't going to fall off anytime soon. She muttered, "I just need to find a good prank."</p><p>They sat in silence for a bit before Parvati chimed in, "Well...what sort of thing does she care about?"</p><p>Harriet said with derision, "Money, making sure her cronies are properly laughing at her jokes, her hair."</p><p>Lavender said, "The hair isn't a bad target."</p><p>Harriet grinned a bit nastily, "Yeah! The hair! Maybe slip something in her shampoo."</p><p>"We can't exactly get into the Slytherin dorms," Hermione noted.</p><p>"Know any good spells, Hermione?" Harriet asked. Hermione really was a genius, and had definitely learned there was much to be gained from just chilling out once in a while. Harriet was grateful for multiple reasons to make friends with someone like her.</p><p>"Nothing that wouldn't be permanent, and as much as this is completely childish and the smart thing to do would be to just ignore her and all this would probably only further deepen animosity, I do understand you wanting to get back at Malfoy. I still refuse to do anything permanent."</p><p>Harriet rolled her eyes, under her cucumber slices. Hermione obviously needed to say her bit, but she had learned that Hermione was still going to help them anyways. She was a good friend.</p><p>They sat in silence again until Parvati said, "What about color?"</p><p>Hermione hummed, "I do know some color changing spells."</p><p>"How easy are they to get off?"</p><p>"A simple finite incantatem works."</p><p>Harriet hummed, "Too easy. We need something that lasts a little longer."</p><p>Lavender asked, "What about a dye of some sort?"</p><p>"We can't sneak into the Slytherin dorms, remember?"</p><p>"No, but what if we just dumped it on her head? You know, accidentally," Lavender bumped Harriet shoulder to make the finger quotations.</p><p>Hermione argued, "But that would be too obvious and you'd get into trouble straight away. Harriet, you have only just managed to get off of Professor Snape's bad side."</p><p>Harriet sighed, "Yeah, I know."</p><p>They pondered a bit before Parvati suggested, "What if someone else dumped it on her. Peeves maybe."</p><p>There was silence before Hermione murmured, "That could work, actually. Peeves is rather equal opportunity, and would remove suspicion."</p><p>"Yes! We just need a bucket of some sort of dye. Where would we get any dye?" Harriet sat up, her cucumbers falling into her lap as she did so.</p><p>Hermione was still lying on the floor and said a little dismissively, "You do realize we have chests full of all sorts of potions ingredients. Many of the plants can also make natural dyes."</p><p>Harriet started rooting through her chest, and Hermione sat up too, removing the cucumbers purposefully, and helped her look.</p><p>Harriet pulled out a bottle of rose petals in liquid, "Would this work?"</p><p>Hermione shook her head, "Not really a dye, but it'd make her smell like flowers for a while. Not the goal you're trying to achieve."</p><p>"This?"</p><p>"Turmeric is closer and can certainly be used as a dye, but she's platinum blond and that would just give her a deeper gold. Hardly embarrassing." Hermione reached into the trunk herself and pulled out a jar of pickled beets.</p><p>"Beets?"</p><p>"Oh yes. They stain everything a pink color. Probably your best choice."</p><p>Harriet grinned at the jar, imagining the sour look on Malfoy's face with her pink hair, "It's perfect, Hermione. Thanks."</p><p>Hermione huffed, "I'm still letting it be known that I think the wiser thing to do would be to just ignore her."</p><p>Lavender said from her spot on the floor, "Now that that's sorted, you're missing out on cucumber time. You're the one, Hermione, who said we should do the muggle cucumber."</p><p>Harriet and Hermione both laid back down and properly placed the cucumber slices back over their eyes. Hermione explained, "They help to moisturize the delicate skin around the eyes and remove swelling." She added, "plus it's tradition for face masks."</p><p>Parvati noted with a pleased sigh, "It is rather relaxing."</p><p>Hermione asked rather expectantly to Lavender, "So you promised we'd hear more about your muggleborn ancestors next sleepover."</p><p>"Oh, I did, didn't I. Hmm…" and Lavender proceeded to launch into a thrilling story about the siblings managing to get passage on a steamboat heading north by Reed glamouring himself as white man passing as Ruth's owner, peddling her fortune telling skills. They laughed at some of the more humorous fortunes Ruth gave to customers and went silent in expectation as they heard about when the two literally had to jump ship as the magical authority got wind of Ruth's accurate predictions.</p><p>When Lavender yawned mid-sentence to talk about hiking through the southern part of Appalachia, the girls as a whole decided to call it a night. </p><p>They scrubbed the face masks off groggily in the bathroom and shuffled into bed. It didn't take long for Harriet to drift off, dreaming about a pink haired princess in a puffy purple ballgown riding a broomstick, turning all the peasants into Trevor the frog.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Harriet unfortunately had to wait to put her prank into action. They didn't have enough beets between the four of them without depleting the stores they needed for class, and had to owl order, which oddly took a long time.</p><p>The Nimbus 2000 arrived at McGonagall's office without incident much earlier, probably because Harriet spent quite a few galleons on the thing. Despite Harriet's appointment as Seeker being a fairly tight secret, word still got out to Malfoy. When she confronted her in one of the corridors,</p><p>Harriet felt she would never forget for her whole life the look on that sour face when she thanked her deeply for helping to get her on the Gryffindor team, Malfoy realizing with horror what she had done. It still made Harriet smile anytime she thought about it.</p><p>There were plenty of distractions at school in the time it took for the beets to arrive. Quidditch was ridiculously fun, and Harriet took to it like a house on fire. Classes were fascinating, and Hermione was a god-send with any of the written material Harriet had difficulty absorbing. Harriet was happy, having friends for the first time in her life, and pictures of her family she could gaze at in the evenings. Friends, future, and family in a weird way. Life was really really great.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The beets arrived a week before Halloween, and it was decided for maximum impact, to pull the prank when the entire school was at the feast watching.</p><p>After weeks of Malfoy's nasty looks, attempts to trip Harriet both in actuality and metaphorically, and verbal sniping between the two of them, Harriet was more than ready to humble the blonde. Malfoy hadn't tried to pull anything too physical, under Snape's watchful eye, but that didn't stop even a drop of animosity between them.</p><p>As the Halloween feast just started to go underway, Harriet left the Great Hall, picked up the prepared bucket of crushed beets and juice from the dorms, and wandered the very empty castle in search of Peeves. She eventually found him hanging around Filch's office, painting rude words along the hallway leading up to it.</p><p>"Hey, Peeves. I need your help with a prank."</p><p>Peeves turned to Harriet, curious at the interruption, "Wee Potty has a prank?"</p><p>Harriet lifted the bucket of beets, "I need you to dump this on Draco Malfoy's head for me."</p><p>Peeves grinned nastily, "Why Potty? You want me to prank the Slytherin princess? Don't you think she's already paying enough attention to you?" Peeves floated behind her, "Don't you know, the worst thing in the world is to be ignored."</p><p>Harriet scoffed.</p><p>Peeves continued, "No really. Peeves and the princess are very much alike. We hate being ignored. Being ignored is the worst feeling in the world. If you really want to make the little snakey princess mad, just ignore her."</p><p>Harriet growled. Ignore her? Malfoy? That nasty sour faced brat? Like hell. She stated as much, "Like I'm ever going to ignore that bitch."</p><p>Peeves looked delighted, "So you like her too!"</p><p>Harriet dropped her mouth in shock and disgust, "What?!"</p><p>Peeves grinned even wider, leaping at the chance to make yet another person miserable, "You can't ignore her. She's all you think about. You write HP+DM in hearts over your parchment. You brew love potions to slip in her fancy tea. I won't tell."</p><p>"N-no!! God no!" Gross! Disgusting! Malfoy?! Who could ever like her, much less <em>like</em> like her. She was arrogant and mean and had the most sour expression marring a pretty face. She could go to hell for all she cared.</p><p>Peeves grabbed the bucket out of Harriet's hands and flew off singing, "Potty and the Princess sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"</p><p>Harriet just stared, bemused, disgusted, and a touch pissed off. Ugh, liking Malfoy? When pigs fly. She couldn't imagine.</p><p>Well at least she had accomplished her goal of getting Peeves to do her dirty work. Harriet moved quickly back to the Great Hall in hopes of catching the action, purposefully suppressing all thought of the disgusting concept of actually feeling affection for Draco effing Malfoy. Horrible. She swore she would never think of such a thing ever again. Ugh. Her?? Gross. Liking her of all people. No. She would never even imagine it again. Ugh! HER! Terrible.</p><p>No one saw her enter, everyone was too invested in the festivities to notice a tiny girl scooting inside and plopping down with the Gryffindor first years.</p><p>Lavender whispered, "Did it work?"</p><p>Harriet sighed, "Sort of. As long as he doesn't say anything while he does it. He was teasing as if I actually like her. Peeves thought I actually <em>like</em> like Malfoy. Ugh. Terrible, right? Well then again no one would suspect that, right? Ugh. Terrible. Liking her? I guess as long as he doesn't name any names."</p><p>Hermione gave Harriet a calculating look, but then directed their attention behind them to the Slytherin table as Peeves had arrived, bucket swinging from his hands, "Peeves is a monkey's paw most likely. You get your wish, but at what cost. Either way, we'll find out, now."</p><p>Peeves was in fact singing as he swayed along the Slytherin table.</p><p>
  <em>"A festive Christmas gift for you,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Because an admirer likes to pull your pigtails too.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And even though it's Halloween,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Slytherins can be red and green!"</em>
</p><p> </p><p>And then he dumped the lot right on Malfoy's head.</p><p>She sputtered and screeched, all wet and dripping, dark red crushed beets soaked into her hair and robes.</p><p>The hall erupted in laughs and giggles, Malfoy stood up and stomped out of the hall, her two faithful cronies on her heels. They were both hit with the muck, but for the most part spared the worst of it.</p><p>"Oh my god. That was amazing!" Harriet grinned widely.</p><p>Hermione noted, "And the song wasn't too damning," she gave Harriet a glance, "well maybe someone could place it was you. I don't know if anyone else who could be accused of being an admirer wishing to 'pull Malfoy's pigtails.'"</p><p>"What's that supposed to mean?"</p><p>"Nothing," Hermione said nonchalantly.</p><p>Harriet was spared from asking further, because it was obviously not <em>nothing</em>, by the boys scooting up the table to them. The first year Weasley, Ron was laughing and pounding his knee, "That was wicked! Peeves is annoying most of the time, but I change my mind. He can set off a million dung bombs and I won't care." Ron just laughed, and Dean and Seamus looked just as amused, laughing as well. </p><p>Everyone recounted Malfoy's humiliation a few times, then Seamus pondered aloud, "There's no way that could just be Peeves."</p><p>Ron said, "But Peeves usually works alone. You can suggest things to him, but he's a loose cannon, that one. Never quite know what he's going to do." Ron paused and then added, "Well, unless you're Fred and George, but those two are practically poltergeists themselves."</p><p>Seamus replied, "It could be just Peeves, but wouldn't it be great if someone managed to get those smarmy Slytherins? You girls know anything?"</p><p>Lavender grinned and put her chin in her hand, "You would think, but nope. Not a clue."</p><p>Ron shrugged, still smiling, "Well if they're out there, they deserve an award. Special services to society at large."</p><p>Harriet grinned widely, "If we find them, we'll let them know."</p><p>"Cheers!"</p><p> </p><p>The rest of the Halloween feast passed pleasantly, with good food and conversation. Harriet particularly liked the small swarm of bats that swirled around the expansive ceiling of the Great Hall and that they served what was becoming her favorite dessert, treacle tart.</p><p>Or at least it <em>was</em> enjoyable, until Quirrell banged the doors of the entrance open and declared, "Troll in the dungeon! There's a troll in the dungeon!" and then collapsed on the floor.</p><p>There was screaming and chaos by most of the students, particularly the Gryffindor boys, the headmaster and teachers enforced order and delegated prefects to lead students back to their dorms.</p><p>Parvati pondered calmly, she didn't seem particularly ruffled by any of the proceedings, "Aren't Slytherin dorms in the dungeons?"</p><p>Hermione paused mid-step, looking a touch green, "Oh god. The Slytherins. Malfoy and them don't know. They don't know about the troll."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And then the Slytherins were killed by the troll.<br/>The End.</p><p> </p><p>Just kidding!</p><p> </p><p>Thanks for the comments and kudos. Yinz are amazing and wonderfully motivating!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Harriet and the Mountain Troll</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey all! This chapter was my favorite to write so far. I hope you enjoy it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The girls snuck away from Melody leading all the Gryffindors back up the dorm. She was thankfully pretty laissez-faire for being in charge, or at least she was constantly distracted by the Weasley twins to not pay much mind to sweet little first year girls, so they figured they wouldn't be missed much anyways.</p><p>Hermione said, "They're probably in one of the bathrooms, if they didn't head straight to the Slytherin dorms."</p><p>The other three all nodded with determination, and ran off together. They didn't quite know where to go as there were a few likely bathrooms the Slytherins could have gone to, or even they could have gone back to their dorms in the dungeons, making their quest completely for naught. However fortunately or perhaps unfortunately it didn't take them long to find the troll.</p><p>Harriet covered her mouth, "Oh god. It's like a dead whale and a bag of sick had a baby."</p><p>Hermione hushed her fiercely, seeing the troll far down the hallway dragging a club half the size of Harriet's body. It stumbled along, looking around bemused, as if it had been magically transported to a foreign land taking in the confusing scenery. It stumbled through a door and out of sight, and the girls all took a rather smelly breath of relief.</p><p>That was until the trio of high pitched screams echoed from the room the troll had just entered.</p><p>"Oh shit! That's the bathroom!" Harriet exclaimed and took off running, the other three at her heels.</p><p>They stumbled into the room and saw the troll looming over a mess of broken stalls, the biggest pile in the corner was shifting and moving, whimpers coming from inside it.</p><p>Harriet didn't think and just pulled off her shoe, lobbing it at the troll. It bounced off harmlessly. "Hey! Hey you big ugly bullocks. Over here!"</p><p>The troll turned at the sound, and Harriet threw her other shoe, which also didn't do much, bouncing off the giant ashy head. The troll just looked at her as if she was a curiosity and then took a step forward, lifting a thick arm to grab her.</p><p>"Oh shit!" Harriet dodged under the thankfully slow moving arm and shouted panicked, "Anyone know any spells!!"</p><p>Parvati lifted her wand, definitely no longer calm, "W-win-. Wi-. Win-. Wingardium Leviosa!" And the troll's massive club lifted in the air. The troll itself grunted in frustration, and tried to grab it back, while Parvati waved her wand floating it out of it's reach. "Now what?!"</p><p>Harriet shouted, "Toss it at its head!"</p><p>"Are you crazy?!" Hermione interrupted, "Toss it outside!"</p><p>Parvati sent the club out into the hall, and the troll stumbled after it. Hermione rushed forward, closed and locked the door behind it with a loud satisfying click.</p><p>Lavender had been pulling the Slytherins out from the wreckage of the stalls, and they looked terrified but no worse for wear.</p><p>There was a moment of silence where all of the girls looked at each other and then took a small breath of relief.</p><p>Or at least until Bang! The door to the bathroom was struck.</p><p>Hermione screamed, "It's trying to get back inside!" pulled out her wand and shouted, "Obice!"</p><p>Bang! The door was struck again.</p><p>Parvati shouted at Hermione, "What was that spell?"</p><p>Hermione was sweating, and kept holding her wand at the door, "Obice! It's the barricade spell. Flick in a semicircle and visualize a barrier of some kind!"</p><p>Bang!</p><p>Parvati nodded, and repeated Hermione's movements, aiming for the door, "Obice!"</p><p>Bang!</p><p>Harriet joined in, "Obice!" and Lavender and all three of the Slytherin girls also shouted their own spells at the door half a second later.</p><p>Bang! They saw the door shutter but hold in place, shut tight. </p><p>Bang! A bit of dust fell from the ceiling. </p><p>Bang! Harriet could feel some cracks in her magical barricade and closed her eyes, visualized, and strengthened it.</p><p>Bang!</p><p>Bang! Beaver dams. Brick walls. Mountains. Whatever it was that would not let Harriet's magic fail!</p><p>Bang!</p><p>Bang!</p><p>Then the girls heard the shout of an adult outside, sounding most like McGonagall, "It's down this way!"</p><p>There was the sound of fighting, and spells being cast. The girls all nervously held the barricade in place, among the noise of the Troll roaring and spells bouncing off the walls. It felt like forever until they heard and felt a massive thud that practically shook the floor and Flitwick's voice squeaked, "Well, that takes care of that." Slowly the girls released the barricade spell, all seven of them breathing hard, either from the effort of holding the spell in place, or just the adrenaline.</p><p>Malfoy was the first one to start giggling, it started quietly and vaguely manic. Harriet looked at her, hair covered in wooden splinters and body covered in the stone dust that had fallen on all of them, coloring everything in light grey. There was a small trickle of blood from a cut on her cheek, that flowed to the corner of her mouth, and Harriet couldn't keep her eyes off of it. Malfoy's laugh.</p><p>Parvati was the next one to start laughing, then Lavender. The other two Slytherins joined in and Hermione started laughing too. Harriet couldn't help turning her mouth upward. The relief of not being squished to death by a mountain troll, the wide grin on Malfoy's face and wood chips in her definitely less than perfect hair, the absolute absurdity of practically everything. She laughed loud and hard, her sides hurting from the effort. Everyone was laughing and shaking, pausing only to cough from the dust.</p><p>After Hermione had herself a coughing spell, she was spurred into action, performing a cleaning spell on herself and the Gryffindor's.</p><p>"Would you like a scourgify too?" Hermione offered tentatively to Malfoy.</p><p>Her minions looked tentatively at their leader, who bit her dust and blood covered lip.</p><p>There was a beat of thought, everyone knowing this was an important moment. Harriet held her breath.</p><p>Malfoy nodded tentatively at first, before straightening her posture, attempting some sort of dignity. She replied, "Yes. Thank you, Granger."</p><p>Harriet smiled, and Hermione did too, before nodding and with a certain amount of seriousness, she magically dismissed the dust off of Malfoy. The other two Slytherins also agreed with the Thug...what was her actual name again? Well at least the bigger mousy haired girl asked, "May I too?"</p><p>Hermione was happy to perform spells for both of them, as they had to follow the decision of their leader. Thankfully it wasn't too awkward as Hermione only took a few seconds for each of them.</p><p>They were also saved from any more awkward embarrassment, when the door to the bathroom unlocked from the outside and Professor Snape opened the door.</p><p>Whatever level of surprise he might have had, didn't show on his person, outside of a few moments of speechlessness. They probably made quite a picture. The dust was off of them, but there was still wood in most of the girls hair, Harriet noted Malfoy's had a pink hue now that the dust was off it. Not to mention the ruined stalls, and the stench of troll that had definitely not dissipated.</p><p>"Ah," was all Snape could let out.</p><p>Thankfully Malfoy stepped forward, "Thank you, Uncle Severius for attempting to find me. As you can see we are unharmed. It seems the Gryffindors couldn't resist throwing themselves into danger for a little heroic drama."</p><p>"H-hey!" Harriet sputtered but Malfoy just lifted a graceful hand up in interruption, but then just as gracefully folded it into a bow, bowing one time in the direction of each of the Gryffindor girls.</p><p>"Thank you. I owe each of you for saving my life."</p><p>The other two Slytherins also bowed to the four of them and repeated their leader's words.</p><p>Harriet sputtered, at a complete loss for what to do. Thankfully Parvati and Lavender seemed up on the correct course of action and bowed to each of the Slytherin girls without a word. Hermione and Harriet followed suit, Harriet a bit awkward and feeling decidedly off kilter about the whole thing.</p><p>Professor Snape seemed to be weighing something heavily in his mind. It took him a bit, but finally spoke, "Twenty points each to Gryffindor for, as Miss Malfoy put it, <em> heroic drama </em>," the Gryffindor girls all sucked in a breath. Snape was actually awarding them points? But he didn't stop there, "However I will be taking fifty points from Gryffindor for Miss Potter, who encouraged Peeves to get you all into this mess in the first place."</p><p>Malfoy snapped her head around, "That was <em> you </em>?!"</p><p>"Er…" there was no real use denying it.</p><p>"I don't care if I owe you a life debt! My hair is pink! Pink!" Malfoy screeched. </p><p>Hermione sighed and reached for her school bag in the rubble, holding out three plastic bottles. Plastic? Harriet hadn't seen a single plastic object since before she boarded the Hogwarts Express.</p><p>"I figured something like this would happen," Hermione held out the bottles to Malfoy, who looked at them with suspicion. </p><p>"What exactly are these supposed to be?"</p><p>Hermione sighed, "They're muggle hair potions. This one is a cleanser that will remove the color. This one is a shampoo that should be used to remove the cleanser. And this one is a conditioner that will make your hair strong and shiny, which would be helpful considering all your hair has been through. Directions are written on the bottle."</p><p>Malfoy looked at Snape, seemingly to see if all this was safe. He nodded just slightly and she took the bottles from her with wary curiosity. "How do you have all this?"</p><p>Hermione sighed with weariness odd in an eleven year old, "I asked my parents to send this when the prank was planned. I figured there wasn't much that could go wrong with something as harmless as a bucket of beets," and she waved her arm around at the damaged bathroom, "obviously I was wrong about <em> that, </em> however I also thought that your and Harriet's escalating animosity is stupid and petty especially since, <em> you </em> seem to only wish for her friendship and attention after your rejection on the train," and she turned to Harriet, "and <em> you </em> can't seem leave well enough alone for reason I'm pretty sure you yourself haven't comprehended yet."</p><p>Both Harriet and Malfoy sputtered, Harriet finally spitting out, "There's no way she wants to be my friend, Hermione!"</p><p>"How would you know! You don't know me!" Malfoy shouted back.</p><p>Snape moved to pinch the bridge of nose. And yet he didn't do anything to stop them.</p><p>"Why would I want to know a bully?!"</p><p>"I'm not a bully!"</p><p>"Yes you are! You were a bully from the second we met!"</p><p>"The time in the dress shop? When was I a bully then? I can't barely remember that!"</p><p>It might have been the arguing or the adrenaline or her temper or just the surreal situation in general, but the things Harriet kept very very well guarded just spilled out, "Well I remember it vividly! After eleven years living in a fucking cupboard under the stairs with barely anything to eat or do or see or anyone to talk to other than my godawful relatives, I get the news of my life from the first person who had ever shown me even an ounce of kindness and introduced me to magical world, and then the <em> second </em> person I meet is you, who proceeds to insult and tear down the only person who had ever <em> ever </em>shown me kindness up until that point. You're a bully. And arrogant for stupid reasons. And I don't want to spend time with someone who only pushes others down to make themselves higher. I had enough of that with my relatives and I'm not going live like that here!" </p><p>Harriet was breathing rapidly, in anger and frustration and shouting and everything. It took her half a minute to take in all the occupants expressions of shocked horror. Harriet sucked in a breath, all the rage morphing into fear. Oh god. She shouldn't have said all that.</p><p>"Ah…"</p><p>Parvati spoke first, nearly in tears, "Harry! You said your muggle relatives were awful, but I didn't realize it was that bad!"</p><p>Harriet's brain ground to a halt, trying desperately to come up with a socially acceptable excuse.</p><p>Malfoy turned to argue with the Gryffindors, "You're serious?! There's no way that's true! The famous Harry Potter <em> cannot </em> have been living in a cupboard!"</p><p>Parvati argued back, "They told her her parents died drunk driving! They never told her she was magical at all! She had no idea she was even Indian!"</p><p>Malfoy spun to look at Harriet, looking shocked, and horrified, and...and with pity.</p><p>Oh god. Pity.</p><p>Harriet tried to say something. Anything! But pity was something she couldn't take. She just couldn't take that, no matter what. </p><p>She needed to say something. She needed to <em> do </em> something. So she did the only thing she could do.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Run.</p><p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry to leave you on that cliff hanger. It might take me a bit to write the next chapter. I'm currently living in the DC area, and a little shaken up by everything going on.</p><p>Though I'm safe and my family is safe and we're all okay. </p><p>Just if anything I've learned from covid, fear is a real inspiration suck.</p><p>Stay safe out there everyone!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Harriet and the Bucket of Tea</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warnings for Harriet having anxiety attacks over canon abuse and neglect and Dumbledore being an massive asshole.</p><p>Thanks to Anra7777 for being her amazing self and reading through all this and letting me bounce ideas off her.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Harriet didn't quite realize where her feet were taking her. Maybe it was talking about him, and maybe it was that it took her outside in the open air from the confining castle walls, but she found herself knocking on the small hut she had learned previously was Hagrid's home. She had always meant to visit, but was always distracted by other things.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was some shuffling and noise going on inside, and Harriet knocked again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Keep yer hat on! I'm comin', I'm comin'," and Hagrid opened the door, looking out, obviously expecting someone much taller. He looked around before spotting Harriet far below him. She felt particularly small, as she clutched her arms around her, defensively shivering. Her chest felt tight and out of breath. She couldn't tell if it was from the run or for other reasons.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"H-Harry?! What in the world are ye doing here? Why aintcha at the feast!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet didn't reply, and just slipped in the door, probably extremely rudely, but she couldn't bring herself to care. To be fair, she couldn't bring herself to care much about anything at the moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hagrid's hut was cozy and warm, and smelled pleasantly of herbs and earth and dog. A big boar hound looked cautiously at Harriet, his sympathetic eyes almost reminded her of the pity she just ran from and nearly got her jumping up and running from the hut as well, but Hagrid had shut the door and started putting his kettle over the fire in his hearth, drawing the dog's attention to his master.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Merlin's beard, what happen', Harry? You look like ye' seen a ghost, an not th' friendly sort," Hagrid had pulled some large round cake shaped objects from a tin over the mantle and put them on an rough earthenware saucer in front of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I...uh. There was a troll, in the castle," Harriet stuttered a fairly solid excuse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"A troll?! Inside Hogwarts?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet nodded, wetting her lips, "Yeah. We kind of fought it, sort of. The teachers mostly did. It's taken care of, now." She felt marginally calmer, having a focus, and proceeded to tell the story starting from the beet prank on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hagrid was a good listener, only taking attention off her to pour her a mug of tea that was so large she wasn't able to lift without using both hands. The more she told, the calmer and more settled she felt, and the tea was warm and soothing. By the time she got to Malfoy declaring that they'd saved the Slytherins' lives, her hands were no longer shaking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And then Professor Snape gave us twenty points each, but then took fifty from me because of the prank. But Hermione worked it out with Malfoy by giving her some sort of shampoo to get rid of the pink. Kind of shame. The pink would have suited her for a bit at least."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hagrid chuckled, "A Malfoy with pink hair would be a sight."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet nodded in agreement and took a sip from the bucket of tea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Then what happened?" Hagrid asked innocently. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Then...uh…" Harriet's mood dropped like a stone, "then I came here."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hagrid looked at her curiously for a beat before answering, "Ain't like yer not welcome, Harry, and I 'ppreciate the company, but a sweet little girl like you don't need to be around an ol' dodger like me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet said rather quickly, "That's not true. You're my friend, Hagrid." </span>
  <em>
    <span>First</span>
  </em>
  <span> friend was unsaid with a strict determination. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hagrid smiled warmly, "Yer a good sort, Harry."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet smiled and took another sip of tea, and Hagrid asked, "So now that yer here, what do you think a' Hogwarts? Favorite class?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet was perfectly happy to spend an indeterminate amount of time going over her classes and favorite spells, and her friendships with the Gryffindor girls. Nearly forgetting everything that brought her to the cozy hut in the first place.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nearly. She knew she had a whole lot of shit waiting for her back in the castle, but having the feeling of separation from all of that gave her enough peace of mind to find out what anyone truly knew about her home life. But she couldn't. She just wanted to forget, at least for a little while. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In a lull in conversation, Hagrid said, with a touch of guilt but mostly relief, "I'm glad yer doin' alright now, Harry. I shoulda contacted ye, but I kept thinkin' yer a sweet little girl and have no business with a ol' man like me. But I was worried about ye. If things are botherin' ya, feel free ter come anytime."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet startled a bit at the genuine emotion. Hagrid smiled warmly at her and Harriet couldn't help but smile into her bucket of tea. She mumbled a small, "Thanks, Hagrid."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hagrid smiled and nodded, then asked in a much more casual tone, "Now I know it ain't none of me business, but if ye want to talk about whatever it is that brought ye here, I'm all ears."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet wet her lips again. She felt calmer by a mile, though even thinking about it got her heart rate up again. But maybe it wouldn't hurt to find out what Hagrid knew about her family. He seemed to have been the only staff to have actually met them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Um...Hagrid?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hagrid had stood and was refilling his own tea bucket, Harriet had been drinking from her own, but still hadn't made a sizable dent, "Hm?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Did you...tell anyone about my relatives?" Harriet hoped her voice sounded as nonchalant as possible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hagrid frowned and returned to the table with his own refilled bucket, "No...well not unless ye count Dumbledore. Told him somethin' seemed off bout em."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet nodded and looked into the bucket, for lack of anything else to do, "uh, off?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hagrid seemed hesitant to speak, seemingly choosing his words carefully. Harriet didn't think him the sort to choose words carefully at all, but today had been all sort of weird, "I've helped a lot a' muggleborns in my years. Meet the families an explain magic. Take 'em to Diagon Alley," he smiled at Harriet with a twinkle in his beetle black eyes, "though yer my only one I celebrated their birthday with.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"An' a lot of the families are shocked," he chuckled with a faint smile, "got quite a few faintin' ones. I carry around a potion or two for nerves when I go. They end up a right mess on occasion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"But some," Hagrid paused with a deep frown, "Hogwarts students come from all sort a' situations, yer know? I'm practically one a' them meself, me dad an' me growin' up. I try to tell someone, try to keep an eye on the worrisome ones."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hagrid shook his head, not in the negative, but in denial of something or another, "I know Dumbledore said it was the safest place for ye, Harry. He was the one that chose to send ye to the Dursleys in the first place-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wait. Dumbledore? The headmaster?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hagrid nodded, "I was there that night. It was today actually. Halloween, yer parents were...were…gone. And well I remember I took ye in me arms, traveling from the wreckage of yer parents’ house." Hagrid pulled a handkerchief as big as a towel from his pocket and gave a great sniff and dabbed his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet shook her head in confusion, "That was tonight? And Dumbledore said it was safe there? He chose for me to stay with my relatives?" She couldn't help it slipping out again, "Did he know they were terrible?" Shit. What was with tonight. Halloween was obviously cursed. "I mean...uh. Was there anyone to check? That it was safe?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hagrid blew his nose, it sounded something similar to a fog horn, "Well, that's what I don't quite understand. He's had people tailin' ye yer whole life, Harry. Ol' Arabella Figg moved in just a few houses down from ye in fact. And I trust Dumbledore's judgement. Good man, Dumbledore. And he says yer safest there, but the Dursleys were all sorts a' wrong. I seen a lot of muggleborns, and somethin' ain't right with the Dursleys," Hagrid looked at Harriet a bit in alarm, "No offense, Harry."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mrs. Figg? Was keeping an eye on her? Dumblore had placed her there in the first place? And told everyone Harriet was safe in that house? Harriet's chest felt tight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked into her bucket of tea, and could almost see the murky outline of her own reflection as her thoughts started to spin. The headmaster, Dumbledore, the one Lavender said had more magic power than anyone in the school, most likely combined, had sent her to the Dursleys? And told Hagrid it was safe? After having people secretly check on her? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mrs. Figg practically knew everything. Aunt Petunia often complained about her being nosy, which Harriet always found rather ironic considering Aunt Petunia's favorite pastime. But Mrs. Figg, she had to know everything. She had even cleaned up a few of Harriet's particularly bad bruises from a run in with Uncle Vernon. Had fed her stale biscuits that had expired 20 years ago, when Harriet said she hadn't eaten anything for the day. She had to have heard the screaming and insults of 'worthless', 'freak', and 'disgusting mutt'. And Dumbledore knew it all. And it all had happened tonight of all days.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet's chest felt tighter and tighter, her breath came fast and messed with her tea reflection. As of earlier today, she didn't want anyone to know how bad it was, but now that she knew that someone did know, and had purposefully placed her there, knew just how bad it was on a continual and graphic basis, and had the power and means to keep her there, trapped in that horrible, awful place...</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her first Hogwarts letter was addressed to her cupboard under the stairs, after all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hagrid was saying something, but the heartbeat in her ears muffled everything, and she couldn't bring herself to concentrate. She couldn't breathe. She had to...had to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stood and sprinted out of the hut without a word. Hagrid shouted after her, but everything was muffled from the heart beat in her ears, the wind slapping her face. She was always fast. Always had to be fast. And she used that speed to get away. Away…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But where could she go? Dumbledore, the headmaster, knew. Knew everything. And had purposefully let her be insulted, starved. What escape would she have from that?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The need for something familiar overtook her, and following her feet again in the longest day of her life brought her to the greenhouses and a dark corner reminding her of her cupboard, under a table covered in draped hanging vines that dappled the little light coming in from the now dark evening. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It had to be late. How long ago was it when Peeves dumped those beets on Malfoy? Had to be years ago.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy was a welcomed distraction, as Harriet collected herself in the warm and humid spot in the comforting darkness, a pleasant cocoon. Vines just waved calmly over the entrance. Malfoy's look of shock and outrage. Malfoy's graceful bow with wood chips and pink tinged hair. Malfoy's slightly crazed laugh of relief. Harriet was able to hear the forest noises now, a soothing white noise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sat there for what felt like hours, but time was so very weird today, and tried hard not to think. Not to think about Halloween being cursed. Not about feeling trapped. Not about how the most powerful wizard alive had purposefully placed her somewhere terrible. Not about how she would never escape. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She curled up and sobbed into her knees.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Time flowed for that odd indeterminate span of time, before Harriet's head shot up at the sound of crunching footsteps outside the greenhouse. The door opened and the sound of the footsteps changed to the muffled mulch and dirt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A voice sounding very much like Professor Sprout said out into the darkness, "If you are not fully dressed, I recommend you do so now. And if you are appropriately clothed, I applaud you in your restraint. Either way, feel free to come out and talk. I promise I won't bite."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet didn't breathe. What??</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The footsteps came closer and stopped right under her spot. There was a very short pause before Spout crouched down and parted the curtain of vines.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sighed in relief, "Thank Merlin. It's just one of the tiny ones. I have given the safe sex talk one too many time this year and it's only October. I can't tell you how frisky this batch of sixth years are."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>W-what??</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seeing Harriet not move an inch, Spout with little fanfare crawled under the table and scooted up next to Harriet, sighing again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet didn't quite know what to think of this behavior. She didn't know what to think about </span>
  <em>
    <span>any</span>
  </em>
  <span> of this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ah, I see you're confused that you'd been found. Let me tell you a little tip. Every teenager thinks they're the first person in history to experience romance, and that no one would ever think to go to the greenhouses for a little privacy. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Everyone</span>
  </em>
  <span> goes to the greenhouses. I have detection wards all over the place."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sighed again, "And then I get to give the sex talk, </span>
  <em>
    <span>again</span>
  </em>
  <span>, because as much as parents are responsible for giving such speeches to their children, they never do a good job. Plus, the kids usually feel so mortified they never try such things again. Or at least not in the greenhouses, and then it's not my responsibility to police </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet looked at her curiously. Her odd monologue took down quite a few immediate barriers she had built up in her fright of discovery. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spout continued, speaking out into the air, "So I usually get two kinds to hang out in my greenhouses. A couple looking for some canoodling, or individuals needing a little escape. Considering you're alone and a first year, I'll make the assumption you're the later," she shrugged nonchalantly, "but heavens knows kids get into things earlier and earlier these days."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sprout looked at her face with a rueful smile and wagged her eyebrows playfully, "Not hiding a boyfriend anywhere?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet couldn't help the giggle that erupted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Girlfriend? Friendly friend? You never know."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet bit her smiling lip and shook her head. The kindly teasing lifted her exponentially. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No? Oh well. I'm sure it'll come with time."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They sat in silence for a bit before Harriet asked, "How did you know I was under here?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sprout answered easily, waving at the vines, "Well the wards let me know someone came in, but the Black Salazary Ivy always waves more excitedly when people are around."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet looked at the vines- black salazary ivy she supposed, waving a little more now with both of them there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Spout spoke again, looking at the ivy as well, "Now I'm not going to do something as impolite as ask what's wrong and expect you to explain it to me. But what I </span>
  <em>
    <span>will</span>
  </em>
  <span> say is that, whatever problems you might be facing now, you might not have to worry about in the future."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet looked at her curiously. Sprout still looked out at the ivy, swaying and swaying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"When you're a kid, everything is all very overwhelming. You feel like your whole life is exactly as it is right now. Living so very deeply in the present and living with such passion is one of kids' real advantages. But it also comes with the assumption that nothing will change. That life as an adult will be your life as a kid, and that is definitely not true."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned and looked at Harriet head on, "You never truly know what your life will be like in the future. It could be good. It could be bad. It will most likely be a weird combination of the two. But either way it will be different. You never know what curve balls life will throw at you. Don't get so overwhelmed that you drown. This too, shall pass."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet thought about this. Dumbledore, however powerful he might be, whatever machinations he might have put in place, they wouldn't last forever. Harriet wouldn't live with the Dursleys for the rest of her life. And hadn't she already been thrown some unbelievable curve balls? Hadn't life changed so much in just half a year? What sort of hope had she of having friends and a future before Hagrid showed up on her birthday? Who knew whatever other curveballs there might be. Sprout was right. They could be good, or bad, or a mix of the two. But life would go on regardless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thank you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sprout huffed, pleased at her response, "I told you. You're not the first kid to feel overwhelmed by it all. And I promise I won't be too offended next time you show up in the middle of the night."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What time is it?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"A little after midnight. Certainly past curfew for a first year," Sprout winked,"but I'll walk you to your tower, and maybe put in a good word about how you helped me fertilize the Hickeyhollies."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet smiled genuinely, "Thanks, professor."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As they crawled out from under the table and exited the greenhouse, Harriet felt she just had to ask, "Is it true you have an arrest warrant in Nepal?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Professor Sprout just gave a loud and hearty laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I can't wait until this election business is over. Thankfully me and my family are use to covid standards and not leaving the house. Yay for not leaving the house!</p><p>I wish I had a Professor Sprout growing up. One of my goals for this fic is explore characters that don't get a lot of attention. I figured that the head of Hufflepuff and teacher for at least a decade has a great deal of kindness and wisdom to share.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Harriet and the Bizarre Breakfast</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sprout and Harriet encountered no one but the ghost of the Grey Lady, who only floated by disinterested. When they arrived at Gryffindor tower, the portrait of the Fat Lady's eyebrow rose, and Sprout laughed before saying pleasantly, "Oh don't you start in with Violet on anything. She was just helping me out in greenhouses after hours."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Fat Lady sighed, obviously disappointed at the lack of drama, "Oh, alright," and she swung open, without even needing the password.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a small shove on Harriet's back shoulder, Sprout grinned, "Now off you pop. A good night's sleep does a world of good. And you're free to pop by my greenhouses anytime."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet nodded with a small genuine smile, "Thanks, professor," and crawled in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The common room still had a handful of students awake but immersed in their own business, and Harriet climbed the stairs up to the girls dorms with barely a head turn.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In her room, she discovered Lavender had fallen asleep, but Parvati and Hermione were playing cards on Parvati's bed. Obviously a muggle deck and not Exploding Snap, unless Hermione had perfected silencing spells as Lavender was quietly snoring. Harriet supposed either was a distinct possibility. They both got up from the bed, and Parvati gave Harriet a relieved but calm smile. Hermione was looking relieved but still upset, and bit her lip, seemingly in an attempt not to speak. Harriet noted that her eyes were red and puffy from crying. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Parvati said calmly, "Oh good you're back. We just want to make sure you arrived in one piece. Trolls and all," and started folding down her blankets to climb in. Harriet just dully nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Parvati and Hermione both settled into bed, and Harriet took that as a cue to get into her own nightshirt and crawl in. Exhausted, and a little surprised at the lack of questioning. Parvati seemed to answer her as if psychic, "We don't expect you to tell us anything unless you want to, but we are available," she laid down, "either way, it's been a long day. Goodnight."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh thank god. Harriet was relieved and truly felt tired down to her bones. Exhausted and not even aware of pulling up the covers and hitting the pillow, Harriet slipped into darkness. She might have dreamed Hermione whispering roughly, "We love you, Harriet," before completely slipping away.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She laid there for what felt like fifteen minutes, but had to have been longer as the sun was up and she didn't feel quite so tired. Lavender shook her shoulder with a cheery sing-songy, "Good morning, Harry! Time to get up, because you still smell like troll."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet lifted her arm for a sniff and immediately turned away with a grimace, "Oh god. I do. I hope it won't stick to the bedding."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lavender shrugged, "Probably. The elves here are very skilled. Either way, we've planned not to tell anyone what actually happened, so don't go making it obvious by stinking up the breakfast table," she laughed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet was relieved, and playfully complained, "Fine. Fine. I'm getting up," and grabbed her stuff to shower and get ready for the day. Lavender grabbed her stack of things and they both headed to the bathrooms. The two saw Parvati and Hermione exit, clean and fresh. Hermione looked significantly better herself, and smiled warmly to Harriet asking politely how she slept. Harriet gave a positive reply before slipping into the bathroom and starting her pleasantly mindless routine. Once finished, Lavender and Harriet grabbed their bags from the room and headed down to breakfast, engaging in meaningless small talk on the way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet looked out at the Great Hall for their spot on the Gryffindor table, but the sight that greeted her made her skid to a halt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Parvati and Hermione were at their usual spot, but the Slytherins were there also, sitting, perfectly content, chatting with Parvati and Hermione, and eating...from their food! Like nothing had ever been wrong between them!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Pug had spotted Harriet and Lavender enter and stood quickly, switching to a look of determination and headed straight for them at a quick. Harriet straightened up defensively, and prepared herself for the inevitable attack. She was left reeling in surprise when the Pug instead turned to Lavender and said, "Lav. You are </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> going to believe what I just heard."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet turned to Lavender, who didn't look the slightest bit weirded out by this odd behavior. If anything, she looked excited and said with a squeal, "Oh, what, Pansy?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Pug- Pansy lifted a hand to whisper in her ear, and Lavender turned obediently to hear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lavender turned to look at her with a look of shock, "No!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pansy grinned and nodded, and then leaned forward to whisper again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"W-what?" Harriet squeaked out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pansy just raised an eyebrow in appraisal, but Lavender flicked her hand, "Oh, it's about one of the Ravenclaw fifth year girls you wouldn't know. Turns out she fancies that </span>
  <em>
    <span>right wanker,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Percy Weasley. Can you imagine</span>
  <em>
    <span> anyone </span>
  </em>
  <span>wanting to be with him?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pansy rolled her eyes, "Ugh. He took points off of Slytherin for my headband the other day. A headband!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lavender mirrored the eyeroll, "He's just as terrible to Gryffindors," and made a snotty gesture in a voice that was a poor imitation of the prefect, "'</span>
  <em>
    <span>your nail color will bring shame to the illustrious and noble house of Gryffindor. You don't want people to think </span>
  </em>
  <span>those types</span>
  <em>
    <span> belong to our proud and great house.' </span>
  </em>
  <span>You would think he'd turn a blind eye to them being red, but I guess I'm an eleven year old hussy."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pansy snorted in laughter. Not that she hadn't heard Pansy laugh before, but it felt odd that the laughter wasn't directed at Lavender or herself directly. Bizarre.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the two walked to the table, whispering again to each other, Harriet turned, dully followed, and then sat down. Things turned even more bizarre as Malfoy grabbed an extra plate and loaded it up with twice as much food as she usually ate, and then plopped the thing right in front of Harriet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet just stared at the plate suspiciously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Malfoy drawled with an annoyed frown, "Oh, don't look at it like it's poisoned." Well at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>someone</span>
  </em>
  <span> was talking sense. Malfoy was still sour as ever it seemed, despite whatever this food thing was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Parvati, ever the moderating force explained, "We all talked after-," she twirled her hand in a circle, "everything, and decided to get along, officially. It's stupid otherwise. Besides, Milly and Pansy are absolutely lovely."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Milly. The Thug is Milly. Harriet turned to her, and she nodded with her thick neck and spoke in a shockingly quiet and gentle voice, "Thanks, Parvati. You're nice, too."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This day was getting more and more bizarre. Thankfully Harriet spotted the Gryffindor boys a little further down the table, and all were staring at them, just as slack jawed and shocked as she felt. Seamus had half a fried egg hanging from his mouth. The sight made her snort in amusement, and she felt a bit better.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Malfoy demanded at Harriet, "Well, what are you doing just sitting there like a dullard. Eat!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> was familiar, Harriet verbally swung back, "Who are you to tell me what to do?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I didn't think you'd be this much of an idiot that you don't even know how to stuff your face."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet rolled her eyes dramatically, "When the hell did you change from queen bitch to queen nag?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You'd be spending less time insulting me, if your mouth was occupied."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet opened her mouth to say such insults, but didn't get the chance as Malfoy had shoved a bread roll into her open mouth. Harriet would have sputtered at this obvious assault, but after a bite of the bread, decided it </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> taste good and she </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> rather hungry. She continued chewing and finished the roll, glaring at Malfoy the whole time in reluctant obedience. Malfoy just had a silent satisfied smirk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet dug into the mountain of food placed in front of her with a grumble. Damn it all for the food to taste amazing that morning. Lavender and Pansy were still whispering to each other, Parvati and Milly were engaged in some sort of conversation, and Malfoy, now satisfied that Harriet was eating, turned to Hermione and they started in on some extremely confusing sounding magical theory.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What a truly bizarre start to the day.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Slytherins went their separate ways for class, and Harriet asked the Gryffindors, "So we're friends with them now?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The three nodded, and Hermione spoke, "Officially, I helped Draco remove the pink color from her hair."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boys had been following behind them, completely forgotten for their potential to eavesdrop on the conversation. Ron interjected, "And unofficial?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione said with a bit of a sniff, upset for being overheard and obviously rude behavior, "That's it. I helped her with muggle hair potions to restore her hair from the Peeve's beets incident. Now we're friends."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ron shook his head and looked at the other boys in support, "Blimey. Girls are nutters."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione bristled, "Well, excuse me!" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet tugged her arm to continue walking and said soothingly, "Not worth it. Come on."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione spun with a huff and they continued on their way to class without incident.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lavender just giggled, "They're just confused at the quick turnaround. But the Slytherins aren't bad people, and I've been dying to get good gossip."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ron spoke out, "What are you talking about? Slytherin is an evil house! There's never been a dark wizard that didn't come from them!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet looked at him funny and admitted, "The Sorting Hat wanted to place me in Slytherin actually."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Parvati asked, "So McGonagall was right?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione said conversationally, "It wanted to put me in Ravenclaw."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet snorted, "That is the least shocking thing I've encountered all day."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Their schedules didn't line up with first year Slytherins for lunch, but after the last class was over, the three girls were waiting for them outside their class and invited them to hang out in the Slytherin common room. There wasn't any real reason to refuse, plus Harriet in particular was rather curious as to what it was like and how different her potential house could have been.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They followed the Slytherins to a stretch of blank stone wall and Milly whispered something to it, the password obviously, and the stone shifted, reminding Harriet of the brick entrance of Diagon Alley, into the large open space of the common room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet stepped inside and took in the dark wood mantles and ornate desks, paired with the same sturdy stone that made up most of the castle. There were numerous dark green velvet chairs and chaises, and tasteful landscapes on the walls. The most beautiful thing was the ceiling: a great dome with a number of smaller windows scattered around it looked out on, rather than the sky, the lake. The light around the room shifted with the water and Harriet could see plants swaying bunched in-between the panes. A small school of minnows swam by and flitted curiously down at the airbreathers below before they swam off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All four Gryffindor girls took in the place with a bit of awe, and the Slytherins, Malfoy in particular, looked pleased.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She said to Harriet specifically, "I told you Slytherin is the best."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet chuckled, "Too bad you were such a cunt. I would have ended up here."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Slytherins directed them to a group of elegant couches and chairs and then Malfoy asked, "What exactly did you mean by that?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet sighed, "Don't get me wrong, because I'm very glad I ended up in Gryffindor," she nodded to her friends, "but the Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Malfoy just looked shocked and offended, "What?!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I told it no. You were such an ass at the dress shop and on the train, I told it to put me anywhere else," Harriet tacked on at the end, "well, anywhere else but Hufflepuff because I wanted to be far away from Zacharias Smith too."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That got some chuckles from most of the girls, but Malfoy just looked shocked and...guilty? Why guilty?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She answered this in particular, sounding disappointed in herself,  "So Slytherin would have had the great Harry Potter if it weren't for me?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet rolled her eyes, "'Great', who? I'm leaving right now if you start on that famous shit."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pansy shook her head, "Don't mind her."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet frowned deeply and stood, "No really. I hate that I'm famous for such a terrible reason. If you still want to be my friend for that, I'm done."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Malfoy grabbed at Harriet's wrist, desperation bleeding through her reaction, "Wait. No. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> want to be your friend because you were famous, but…" she said with haughtiness that was soften by a blush bridging her pointed nose, "You're so stupid and </span>
  <em>
    <span>need</span>
  </em>
  <span> my help. I'm magnanimous, and doing the world a favor."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet rolled her eyes, but sat back down, "You're such a cunt."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Idiot."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Bitch."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Ugly."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Asshole."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Mugglelover."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet didn't respond to that one and the Gryffindors all frowned, bringing the playful mood crashing to the floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What? Sorry you're so offended," Malfoy gave a non-apology. It only pissed Harriet off more. She had half a mind to get up and leave right then. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione however didn't seem nearly as upset and only rolled her eyes, "I dealt with types just like you at home," she clapped her hands with determination, "Okay. Tell me what you know or think of muggles or muggleborns."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Malfoy frowned, "Well...they're uncivilized and dirty. They're constantly dying of diseases and things."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione explained, "Maybe a hundred years ago. Medicine and societal advancement has had a dramatic effect on life expectancy and quality of life. As of the last time I checked and my memory, the average life expectancy in Britain was the upper 70s."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Malfoy frowned, "Well, they're stupid. Not clever at all."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione rolled her eyes, "Just like wix, there are some that are clever and some that are not. Did you know that muggles were able to build transportation to the moon?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Slytherins all looked flabbergasted, "What?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pansy exclaimed, "There's no way that's true."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet snorted, "Of course it's true. It happened like 30 years ago."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione did some mental calculation, "Twenty two years actually."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Parvati nodded, but Lavender herself looked shocked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Parvati asked her, "You didn't know?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lavender shook her head, "Just because we'll always support muggleborns doesn't mean my family is current on muggle culture."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione grinned widely, extremely pleased with the proceedings, "Alright. Any other comments about muggles or muggleborns."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lavender raised her hand, "I know you addressed this when we met, but I heard they imprison and hate anyone bent."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione nodded, "Well the imprisonment thing did happen a few years ago, and there is quite a lot of discrimination, but things have improved in Britain in recent years. But for the sake of argument, since there is still so very much work to be done, I'll say that one is mostly true. That seems to be something that magic culture does better."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Milly raised her hand, and when given the go ahead, spoke in her quiet, shy tone, "They use electal stuff and it's dangerous and kills tons of people."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione nodded, "It's electricity, and yes they do use electricity and it </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>dangerous if used improperly, however children are taught how to be safe around it starting at a very young age. Fatal accidents involving electricity tend to be rare. Personally I think magic is far more dangerous and has the potential to be used improperly. The electrical systems around the country are well regulated and maintained."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Malfoy spoke, "You said about medicine. That there have been improvements. Do the muggle healers still slice people open?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione chuckled, "Yes they do. And they're very good at it. It's only used in very rare occasions to help remove diseased or damaged parts of the body. The vast majority of people who undergo it, live and have good quality of life. When I refer to medicine though, there are many branches, and the kind that slice people open, surgery, is only one kind, my parents are actually a specialized form of muggle healer that only work on people's teeth and mouths."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lavender grinned and said excited, "Oh! I remember! Dermtists!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Dentists, but yes. But there are whole branches that have nothing to do with surgery. For example, pharmacology has its equivalent in potions, potions research, and potions making. There have been many clever and dedicated muggles who have tried and found solutions to all sorts of problems."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pansy said, "Do they do witch hunts? I heard they do witch hunts. They would burn them at the stake or throw rocks at them until they died, magic or not."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione frowned, "I can't say historically that they didn't. But nothing like that has happened for two hundred years. At least."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Milly said in her quiet voice, "That's why Salazar Slytherin didn't want muggleborns in his house. He was worried his students would be killed."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione thought about that, "Well...considering Hogwarts was built during the Middle Ages, and at time when witch hunts were prevalent, there is a certain amount of sense to that. But that notion seems at the very minimum outdated, especially with the Statute of Secrecy. At its worse, it could lead to discrimination and violence."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Slytherins took this in with silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Malfoy spoke softly, "I still can't quite wrap my head around the moon thing."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione giggled, "I'll have my parents send a muggle astronomy book. I know I still have time, but I thought about potential N.E.W.T research into the various differences in knowledge between muggle and magic astronomy."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lavender said, "You know, I would usually think that magical astronomy had to be more advanced...but traveling to the moon?" The Slytherins all nodded in agreement.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione grinned widely, "Well let me tell you about a special muggle machine called the Hubble Space Telescope."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Malfoy is turning into the type of tsundere that would berate Harry for not dressing properly for the cold weather, and simultaneously take off her own jacket, hat, scarf, and gloves to give to her.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Harriet and the Slytherins in the Gryffindor Dorms</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Harriet adjusted to her new normal. They shared meals with the Slytherins when their schedules aligned, and often hung out after in either of their common rooms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were likely some rules about bringing in members of other houses, but in terms of anyone actually enforcing them, in Gryffindor it seemed that ever since 'right wanker' Percy had started a romantic interest in that Ravenclaw fifth year, he didn't have much of a leg to stand on. The other potential enforcer Melody was perpetually chasing the Weasley twins around, and wasn't up to chastising three odd Slytherin first year girls out of place. So they very willfully ignored the indignant squawking coming from primarily the first year boys.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the Slytherin common room, it seemed no one bothered to mess with a decision made by a member of the Malfoy family. Despite her being a first year girl, she really did hold sway in the house. People might look at them warily, but no one approached their little group in the common room or elsewhere. Harriet was already getting used to the funny looks people would give her from the other houses in the corridors and at class, but at least in Slytherin, people didn't whisper within earshot. It was refreshing in a way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though her new normal did make the morning of her first Quidditch match interesting. The Slytherins plopped down at the Gryffindor table for breakfast, with the first year boys particularly up in arms about it, with calls of "Traitor!" and "Don't you even think about any sabotage for the game today!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet was so nervous, she couldn't even bring herself to care. She'd almost welcome some sabotage because everyone could blame the Slytherins rather than Harriet completely choking on the field. What were they thinking when they signed up a fucking first year? Harriet was doomed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy just rolled her eyes and loaded up a plate of food for Harriet, like usual. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet grumbled, "I'm not hungry."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Eat, you utter moron."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy just glared for a second and then rolled her eyes again, and started eating her own food, all posh and ridiculously dainty-like. "Whatever. Not like anyone is expecting much of you anyways. Weak little girl that you are."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet growled, "I'm not weak!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy smirked in her typical condescending manner, "Of course you are," and put her hand on her forehead in a mock faint, "Oh! I'm such a darling sweet and simple girl, who can't string two thoughts together. Such an utter moron. Quidditch is far too dangerous for me. I think I'll just sit here and let stronger and better wizards get the job done."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Fuck you! I out flown you my first time on a broom!" Harriet growled and took a bite of her fried eggs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Pff. You didn't even touch me. You cheated with that muggle mind trick of yours. I had to ask Davis what it meant and it was unfair and underhanded and you know it. You wouldn't have gotten me at all if it weren't for that."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet dug into a piece of toast before mouthing back, "All I'm hearing is lame excuses as to why you lost. It's not my problem you don't know an insult when you hear one."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite just being insulted, Malfoy was looking pleased with herself. Not insulted at all. Weirdo.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pansy meanwhile was glaring, "Draco. Darling. Why? I actually wanted Slytherin to win."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy shrugged nonchalantly and went back to spreading preserves on toast in the most pretentious way possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet ate another fried egg and thought that her new friends were weird. What was with those responses? Weirdos.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender interrupted her thoughts with a wide grin, "Hey. I have an idea. We've been having a monthly slumber party and could invite you girls. We could make it fun that whoever wins the Quidditch match, gets to host it in their dorms."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Slytherins looked at each other before Pansy asked, "Slumber party? What does that entail?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We usually do nails, and use hair and face potions. Hermione has got us on this muggle tradition to help with removing eye swelling," Lavender explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione said, "To be fair, it's mostly tradition with the muggle version of face potions."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati added, "Well, I like it. It's relaxing and smells nice."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy looked at Harriet appraisingly, "Is that why that bird's nest disappeared that one day? I was shocked it could actually be tamed."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You know I'm right here," Harriet grumbled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seamus squawked further down the table, "I can't believe you're inviting snakes into our dorms right after a game against them!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pansy laughed a little nastily, "Who says we're going to be in your dorms? What if we win and host it in Slytherin?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ron looked a little green at that, "I can't believe I might actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span> Gryffindor to lose." Dean patted his shoulder consolingly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Too bad for Ron, Gryffindor didn't lose. Probably was an exciting game to watch between Harry's bucking broom and catching the Snitch in her mouth, it was likely an unusual match. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her friends from both houses rushed onto the Quidditch pitch, as Flint argued with Madam Hooch about her unorthodox catch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione gasped, "Harriet, are you okay?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet grinned widely, "Oh yeah. I didn't actually choke on it. It just landed in my mouth. I think it's a bit too big to be swallowed."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione and Malfoy looked peeved at her, and Malfoy snapped, "Not </span>
  <em>
    <span>that,</span>
  </em>
  <span> you idiot. Those seizures!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, the broom thing? I don't know what happened. It was jerking all on its own, and then all of a sudden, stopped."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Gryffindors looked at each other, and the Slytherins seemed to pick up on it, and frowned. Hermione hissed, "Not here. You go on ahead because people will want to celebrate the win. We'll head down to Slytherin and help the girls with their stuff for the sleepover. We'll talk tonight."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Uh, okay?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And the girls left her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn't however take long before the Weasley twins scooped her up and carried her around on one of the twins shoulders. She was pretty sure it was Fred. He was the one with a tiny crinkle in his nose and a brasher personality. A crowd of students decorated in red and gold enfolded the lot of them with cheers and congratulations, and they marched and sang all the way back to the common room. Harriet couldn't help but be swept up by all the excitement. Maybe being the center of attention wasn't </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> bad.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took quite a bit to escape all the celebrating going on in the common room, not that she tried super hard at it as it was the first real party she'd ever attended, but her friends were waiting for her, and their reaction to the issues with her broom were a bit ominous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she finally got upstairs, everyone was in their nightclothes. Parvati was giving Malfoy an elaborate plait, Pansy was working some hair straightener potion into Lavender's hair, and Hermione was cooing over a small snake cupped in Milly's hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Uh, did I miss much?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy waved Harriet over, commanding, "Good. You're here. Sit in front of me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet dumped her Quidditch gear off in her usual spot and grabbed her own nightshirt, "Why should I listen to you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy wrinkled her nose in a sneer, "Actually, nevermind. Get away from me. Go bathe, you barbarian. Why didn't you do that in the locker room?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet lifted her armpit for a sniff. Eh. Yeah. Probably should. Not because Malfoy told her to. Nope.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Either way she shrugged and grabbed her stuff for the showers, "Too much celebrating."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy whined to Parvati, "Is she always this bad? Does she have even an ounce of femininity?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati just laughed, and continued on her elaborate plating. Harriet had to admit, it suited Malfoy. She looked more like that fairy tale princess she imagined her to be at their first meeting. Harriet had half a mind to pick her nose in front of her just to be contrary. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Whatever, I'll be back."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time she returned from the showers, the girls had started on their face potions, all except Malfoy, who was sitting patiently and patted the spot in front of herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet rolled her eyes and sat in front of her, facing her, "What?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Turn around, you prat. I'm doing the world a favor and removing that bird's nest on your head."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet turned around, but complained, "God, I should have just let the troll kill you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy popped the cork off the bottle labeled "Fleemont's Specialia" and started working it through her hair with her fingers starting from the bottom, "But then you'd have to call specialists into Hogwarts from Creature control to manage the infestation on your head."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ugh. God, do you ever shut up?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Do you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione interrupted, "Enough flirting! We have important things to talk about!" She glared at the two of them, though it wasn't particularly intimidating with the face mask smeared all over, "I need to talk to you about your broom!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, yeah. What's up with that?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione said, "So we've been talking, and either it was as mild as a little house rivalry, or serious as a death threat, depending on what theory you believe."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Huh?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione sighed, "The evidence is quite odd, and to be honest, I haven't been able to quite figure it out myself."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender interjected, she was helping Milly with her face mask, "Why don't you start with what we know, Hermione?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded in agreement and stated, "So when your broom started acting up, I noticed that Professor Snape had been focused on you and muttering some sort of spell in your direction. I thought it was likely some sort of curse."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender added, "But I saw creepy Quirrell doing the same thing."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione continued, "Yes, though I didn't notice at the time. I was focused on Professor Snape. So I snuck under the staff stands, and caused a distraction."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender grinned, "She set his robes on fire."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet snorted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Aaaanyway. It was an effective distraction for both Snape and Quirrell, and you were returned control of your broom immediately afterwards."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So, you're saying, either Snape or Quirrell or both, cursed my broom? Why?" Harriet wanted to feel more upset about it, but Malfoy's fingers running through her scalp felt shocking good. Ugh. So annoying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pansy said on her spot of the floor, with cucumbers over her eyes, "Personally I think Snape just wanted to give Slytherin an edge to winning the game."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"By killing me?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy snorted, "Not likely. Quidditch players fall off their brooms all the time. You'd have probably spent a night with Madam Pomfrey."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione hummed, "Which seems really illogical, unless someone was trying to get you out of the dorms and relatively unprotected."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy drawled which was super annoying because she had managed to scratch this one spot on Harriet's scalp that made her melt. Ugh. "The more concerning thing is your broom."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet hummed a little, distracted, "My broom? Aren't we discussing my broom?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't you know anything about your broom? It's a Nimbus 2000. Professionally regulated."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hm?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy huffed, "Why must I be the one to explain everything to you. It is </span>
  <em>
    <span>professionally regulated.</span>
  </em>
  <span> It is able to be used in professional quidditch games, which means it contains powerful charms protecting it against curses. Otherwise any disgruntled fan could mess with the results of any game they were watching."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Then it couldn't have been cursed?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione nodded, "And yet, it was. It had to have been extremely powerful dark magic."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet sat bemused, "That seems excessive for just altering the score of a Quidditch game."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione said, "Which is why we're worried there's something deeper going on. And it involves both Professor Snape and Quirrell in some capacity."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pansy mused, "I wonder if it had anything to do with the cerberus on the third floor corridor."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wait, the what?!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Giant vicious three headed dog? You know? Supposedly it goes by the name Fluffy?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wait, what??"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender ignored Harriet's confusion and added, "I've heard Dumbledore ordered a handful of the staff to come up with protections to guard something."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pansy grinned widely at their gossip, "Me too! What I heard is that it's actually whatever was almost stolen from Gringotts. Plus they also got a dragon, just like at Gringotts!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I thought you couldn't steal from Gringotts?" Harriet asked. She remembered Hagrid telling her that it would be mad to do so. Though she didn't even know how to touch on the idea of a dragon or giant three headed dog hanging around the school.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy sighed dramatically, "Don't you know anything? It was big news. Someone tried to steal something from one of the high security vaults, though the vault in question had been emptied that day just a bit before. It was the same day I did my shopping for school. Mother was so pleased we stopped by our vault earlier, as I heard the goblins shut everything down immediately afterwards."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet looked behind at her, "You mean the day I met you? I was there that day too." Harriet mused, "Actually it was a little odd with Hagrid."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The giant with you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet said almost absent-mindedly, "He's the groundskeeper here and my friend. Don't be a git about it." She hummed a bit and then said, "We went to the vault my parents left for me to buy my school supplies, but we also stopped by one of the deeper vaults. He took out one thing from the whole vault. It was really weird. Like, it was a little bigger than my fist and and wrapped in old cloth, and the only thing in the entire massive room. Plus Hagrid was acting a little squirrelly."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati said, "So the third floor corridor is protecting the fist sized thing that almost got stolen from Gringotts?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pansy shrugged, "Sounds legitimate."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy groaned dramatically. She had finished smoothing out Harriet's hair and was busy plating it, "Can't Dumbledore focus on education? He's the worst. Why is Hogwarts being turned into Gringotts? Wouldn't that put the students in danger?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet frowned deeply, and tensed significantly in thought of Dumbledore. She growled, "I don't think Dumbledore cares much about student safety."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy's hand stilled, "Harry?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's nothing."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy paused for a moment, taking a deep breath, but continued plating and spoke in the same whining drawl, "Well Dumbledore is the worst. Slytherins have had to work twice as hard for any recognition in this school. If you'd have ended up in Slytherin, you'd have seen, Harry."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pansy grinned widely, "That would have been Draco's childhood dream come true."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy scoffed, "Dumbledore gone? Yes. I dream of that every night."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pansy snickered, "No. Harry in Slytherin."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Was it really that important that I would be sorted into Slytherin?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pansy waved her hand from the floor, she was obviously luxuriating and enjoying all this treatment, "I can't say it wouldn't have been a nice boost in reputation, but Draco's favorite game as a child was 'Adventures with Harry Potter.'"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Pansy!!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pansy scoffed, "This is revenge for all the times you refused to play my game and made me pretend to be Harry Potter and fight whatever dragons, or vampires, or muggles trying to burn you at the stake."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't you dare say another word, Parkinson," Malfoy growled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thirty seven times. That's how many times I had to pretend to rescue you from muggles burning you at the stake. Why couldn't we have played gobstones or something. But no."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet laughed at this, turning around, desperate to see Malfoy's embarrassment. She was that same satisfying red color over her cheeks and nose. It only made her laugh even harder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So you're telling me, Pansy pretended to be me rescuing you from evil muggles?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pansy groaned, "It was the worst. I swore revenge," she grinned wickedly, "and now I've had it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy was still bright red and glared at Pansy who couldn't see a thing with the cucumbers on her eyes, "I hate you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet couldn't help but laugh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone finished their hair and face potions, and conversation continued mostly in the form of complaining about teachers and assignments. As they laid on the floor, cucumbers over everyone's eyes, the Slytherins were pulled into the tradition of hearing stories about Lavender's muggleborn ancestors, though she started with the one where the siblings started to figure out their own magic and life on the muggle plantation to help bring them up to speed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they got bored of just lying there and the cucumbers got warm, they sat up and chatted amongst themselves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Milly remained quiet for the most part, though Harriet was learning that her thuggish demeanor was more of a defense for her gentle nature. She was really into animals and people were a bit scary to her, which was pretty valid to be honest. Mily liked animals so much that she couldn't sleep without her pet snake Matilda. Parvati seemed to like Milly the best and had been gushing over the snake most of the night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet decided to try being more friendly with the shy girl, "So what kind of snake is she again?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Milly scratched at a spot on Matilda's head, who hissed, "Oh, that'ssss the sssspot."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Matilda's an Alethian viper. But she's a good judge of character and won't bite unless threatened."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Huh. Well her markings are pretty."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Milly smiled shyly and stopped her scritching, the snake almost seemed like it was pouting, "She's a good friend and has been with me for years."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet decided to scratch at the spot Milly stopped, and Matilda hissed, "Ohhh. Sssso good. Thank you, friend of Milly."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet laughed, "I'm Harriet, or Harry if you'd like. How long have you known Milly?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Many sssseasonsss. Sssince I wass an egg. She kept me warm and fed me delicccioussss thingssss. Quail eggsss are my favorite."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Sounds nice. I'm glad you have someone like her to take care of you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yessss. Sssso I protect her, when she ssssleepssss. Plusss she is warm. I like that she'sss warm."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet laughed at that. It took her a second but she realized no one else laughed. Not that it was particularly funny, but it still was weird no one reacted. She looked up and all of the girls were wearing similar shocked expressions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What? Is there something on my face?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy sputtered, "You're a parselmouth?!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Parsel-what?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Again! Do I have to explain everything! You're a parselmouth! You can communicate with snakes!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh. Uh. Yeah. Actually I once set a python at the zoo loose on my cousin. I do hope he made it to Brazil like he wanted. Seemed like a decent sort. For being a python at the zoo, I mean."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And this isn't a big deal to you?!" Malfoy was freaking out, even more than about the broom mystery. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Uh. Should I be? I mean, it's magic. This is a magic school. You all can do magic." Harriet pointed at Milly, "She's</span>
  <em>
    <span> your</span>
  </em>
  <span> snake. She obviously loves you, so you can communicate with her, right?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Milly looked touched and fondly down at her snake briefly before shaking her head vigorously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione spoke calmly, almost like trying to sooth a frightened animal, "Harriet, parselmouths are really </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>rare."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet just felt bemused, "What?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy said, "They're a sign of a great power. The last known parselmouth was the Dark Lord."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Dark Lord?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender explained, "You-Know-Who."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh. You mean Voldemort?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The lot of them shuddered violently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati added, "But Draco isn't wrong. Parselmouths are associated with great magic. It has popped up in Desi lines on occasion, and nearly always powerful witches and wizards."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy looked at her, "I didn't know that."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati nodded, "It's very rare, but it is there. There's one particular region that the snakes in the area are deemed holy and are protected by the muggles. And that was just from a parselmouth witch that lived there 500 years ago and had created enough of an impression."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet looked at her hands and felt a great weight on her shoulders. She was supposed to be some powerful witch? And she could do something no one else could? What else divided her from others? Was she destined to be different and weird? Was she the freak that Aunt Petunia insisted she was?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati soothed, "Harry, you're special."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't want to be special!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy joined in, "But you are!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Milly asked, "Is there something wrong?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet bit her lip. Why did Milly have to use that small gentle voice with her, "It's...I just…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy frowned deeply, almost angry. Why would she be angry? "Okay. I have remained silent and patient and whatever the hell 'supportive' is supposed to mean, but tell me </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly</span>
  </em>
  <span> who put it in your feeble brain that you're not allowed to be special. In detail. So I can find them and kill them. Slowly."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This threw Harriet for a loop, "What?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy threw her arms in the air in exasperation, "I know it has to do with that word vomit freak out you had back with the troll and I was told to wait it out and be </span>
  <em>
    <span>supportive </span>
  </em>
  <span>for whenever you manage to let out about why your muggle relatives have done such shitty things, but I'm done! I'm done waiting! You tell me exactly what happened so I can pull off their toe nails."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet's jaw hung open for a bit, "Uh….oh."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Details, Harry. Details," Malfoy glared and smacked her open palm, almost as if she was demanding something physical to be placed there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet looked at her own hands, "Oh. Uh. So, I guess...I mean. I guess I could say that my relatives made me live in the cupboard under the stairs until I got my first Hogwarts letter. They moved me to my cousin's second bedroom after that."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender asked, "Your cousin had a second bedroom, and you stayed in a cupboard under the stairs?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet nodded and licked at her dry lips, "And, uh, they wouldn't let me eat the food they gave him." She chuckled darkly, "My cousin is practically the size of a boat, and I'd cook it for them, and then eat whatever leftovers they didn't want, which with Dudley wasn't much. I got good at sneaking stuff after everyone went to bed."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender confirmed, "So they starved you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet nodded, "And they hate anything even remotely magical. Wasn't even allowed superheroes on the telly. Couldn't even say I was dreaming about something odd. I'd have weeks locked in the cupboard the times I performed accidental magic."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy turned to Hermione, furious, "Is this normal muggle behavior!?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now that it was out, the words were coming easier and easier. "And Uncle Vernon and Dudley would beat me, if they could manage to catch me. Thankfully I've gotten very good at not being caught over the years."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione with a terrified look on her face, shook her head vigorously at Malfoy's question. Harriet was surprised it didn't swivel off her neck for how hard she was shaking her head no.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And they called me a freak, and weirdo, and a mutt, and I wasn't allowed to out-perform Dudley in school, which you would think would be easy to do since I can barely read since no one really taught me, but Dudley's just that thick! And I'm not even getting into my Aunt Marge. And now that I know about the Indian thing, it's even worse with all the bad breeding, mutt, and bitch comments." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet took a deep breath, feeling the dam truly bursting and blowing open, "And Dumbledore knows everything. Everything! He put me in that house in the first place and has people guarding me. But guarding me from what? What?! He obviously doesn't actually care about my wellbeing, or else he would have </span>
  <em>
    <span>done</span>
  </em>
  <span> something. But instead he's had creepy neighbors with smelly cats keep an eye on me and watch me be starved and beaten and insulted and done </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Nothing! The most powerful wizard in the world has purposefully chosen to let me suffer and for what! For fun? Is he upset I however unintentionally destroyed Voldemort?! Why?? Why would he choose to leave me there? He wants me to suffer?? Am I something terrifying that needs taming? Like a tiger at the zoo? Why keep me trapped there? Why do I need to suffer?!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet felt something wet and lumpy drop on the tops of her clenched hands. Then another thick drop on her other hand. Like a watered down version of the face mask she had on. She lifted a hand in surprise to touch at the tears at her face. Oh, shit. She didn't want to cry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before the panic of being seen crying could overwhelm her, she was pulled into an unexpected hug. From Milly of all people. Milly who had barely said a few words all night. Milly who was significantly bigger than the others, much less Harriet. It was shockingly soothing. Harriet cried more, and tucked her face into her chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sobs came, the dam was destroyed and there was no putting it all back. It was all out. Harriet felt raw and open and...free in a way. Like it wasn't just water stuck inside. It was poison and it was all out. Like the time the only thing she had to eat was the chicken that had gone bad, and the only thing she could do was to vomit it out. It was awful, but she felt better once it was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Milly is good with sssscared creaturesssss," Matilda hissed. Matilda was draped across Milly's shoulders and slithered her way down to drape across Harriet's.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Did you understand anything I just said?" Harriet sniffed a reply back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No. You were sssspeaking in human tongue. But I know sssscared creaturessss. Milly is good with sssscared creaturessss."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet did feel enveloped and safe, just this side of suffocated. It almost reminded her a bit of her dark cupboard, but in a warmer, kinder way. She was filled with heat in her chest, grateful for her friends. Despite everything in the past and the present, at least in this moment she had friends who cared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah. She is. Thanks for letting me borrow her, Matilda."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"She makesss heat all the time. It'sss not borrowing."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet laughed and wiped at her eyes. "Oh fuck! The face mask!" she swore at the face potion getting into her eyeballs and stinging.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Seems she said the last part in human rather than snake, which is weird enough of a thought because Milly released her from the hug and the other girls jumped into help. Parvati and Malfoy steered her into the bathroom to wash off the potion and flush her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully no one was in the bathroom as she got the stinging solution off her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After she was done, Harriet said shakily, "Thanks."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati said, "Of course."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfoy meanwhile growled, "I'll kill him. I could you know."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet laughed shakily, "He's the most powerful wizard in the world. What are you going to do?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She huffed and crossed her arms, "Well I don't know. I'll have to think about it. Maybe I could poison his wine or something."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet snigger a bit, before saying a little more seriously, "Thank you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati and Malfoy- maybe Harriet really should stop calling her by her last name. Either way, the two took the opportunity to wash their own face masks off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Malfo- Draco drawled, "Well now that </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> is done. I can prepare for you staying with me over winter hols."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati scoffed, "No. She's going to be coming home with me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all started the short walk back to the room. Harriet looked at them a little bemused, "Um. What?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mal- Draco huffed and opened the first year girls door, "As if. She's coming with me!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pansy whined, "What are you two arguing about now?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione said, "If Harriet is arguing, she's feeling better."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet chuckled, "It's not me actually."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati huffed and crossed her arms at Draco, "She should at least spend some time connecting with her Desi heritage!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco raised her arms up indignantly, "She should experience a proper pagan Yule!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet smiled and shrugged, helpless to stop them. She also couldn't help the warmth lodged firmly in her chest. She said a little fondly, "I think they're deciding where I spend Christmas hols."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione said, "Well you're free to stay with me. My parents would love to have you. They've been asking about you in our letters."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender spoke up, "My mum would die having you for hols! And my brother will be coming home! You have to meet him!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Milly spoke up, in her shy voice, "Matilda would miss you. And you could meet the unicorn that lives in the wood by my house."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pansy whined, "You can't keep me out of this! Harry is obviously invited to mine! We always throw the most magnificent party!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet's heart filled to bursting. Warmth and love and joy swelling in her chest. She swore to never forget this moment. She knew, helpless to stop it, that she would do anything in the world for these six people. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anything.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know it was long and a little intense. I mostly want this fic to be funny, but I also want to get a bunch of stuff out of the way so the seven of them can get to the work of taking down Voldemort and being flippant about it in the process.</p><p>It's a bit late, but Happy Indian Republic Day!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Harriet and the Place Above the Laundromat</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>90% of the Patils' home is based on stories from my Indian friends homes back in India. They're all very nuclear now, but a few talk about missing having all that family around.</p>
<p>They usually <i>don't</i> miss lugging around two full suitcases worth of presents to give to all their relatives when they visit.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <br/>
</p><p>Despite initially fighting over where Harriet stayed for winter hols, Harriet herself did get to decide. Mostly it was between the two instigators, Parvati and Draco, and they were happy to continue to argue their cases. </p><p>"She's Desi! She needs to experience that part of her heritage!" Parvati argued with Draco at breakfast, this time at the Slytherin table. </p><p>"But she's not even your religion! She's part pagan too!" Draco retorted. Wait, what?</p><p>Harriet looked at her curiously, "How am I pagan? And how would you know that?"</p><p>Draco did her typical drawl, and twirled her fork in the air, "Fleemont Potter and the whole line of Potters of course."</p><p>Pansy added in with a sing-songy voice, "<em> Adventures with Harry Potter.  </em>Remember?"</p><p>Harriet sniggered at Draco's blush that flared across her nose. Draco's embarrassing childhood fixation was still pretty funny, though it definitely answered how she knew so much. Maybe she could learn more about her grandfather's side through her, like she was learning about her grandmother's side through Parvati.</p><p>Harriet put her chin in her hand in thought, "I would think all those pureblood lines were C of E. That's what my muggle relatives are, or at least they'd go to Christmas and Easter services and leave me with Dumbledore's spy for a few hours."</p><p>Pansy raised her hand, "The Parkinsons are Anglican."</p><p>Milly said, "Bulstrods too."</p><p>Lavender raised her hand, "And mine!"</p><p>Draco waved her hand flippant, "Some pureblood lines took on protestantism, though most still follow pagan customs. To be fair, it's more cultural custom than religion, which is probably why your grandparents worked."</p><p>Harriet tilted her head, "Why wouldn't they have worked?"</p><p>"Your grandmother was Muslim," and Draco added pointedly at Parvati, "not Hindu. So you can't have her for Yule!"</p><p>Parvati huffed, "There's more to being Indian than religion!"</p><p>Harriet felt confused, there was obviously a lot she was missing, "Wait. I thought my ancestors were from India? How can they be Muslim?"</p><p>Parvati sighed and explained, "There are more than just Hindu practitioners in India. There are many many different religious traditions, and Islam has been a part of India for a long time. Your family has been Muslim for as long as we know."</p><p>"But in the pictures, my grandmother never wore the...thing!" Harriet worked her hands over her head in what she hoped described that scarf headdress.</p><p>"Not everyone wears hijab. And I don't think she was particularly strict in her practice, nor your grandfather in his. Probably why they worked to be honest, but who knows." Parvati said.</p><p>"Which is why she should experience a proper Yule!" Draco really was insistent.</p><p>Harriet grinned at her, having gotten the opportunity to be contrary, "But it sounds like my grandfather didn't really follow it much."</p><p>Draco sputtered and frowned, "That's not the point!"</p><p>Harriet did think experiencing a pagan Yule did sound fun, not to mention finding out where such a posh and prissy person could exist, but she was much more curious about her Indian side, whatever the religion was. "I'm going with Parvati."</p><p>Parvati grinned widely and Draco's face fell, hurt and disappointed briefly before molding her expression into anger and deep offense.</p><p>Harriet rolled her eyes with a sigh, "Oh, don't be that way. I do want to try Yule, but I know next to nothing about India or its culture. Next year, show me a proper Yule, okay?"</p><p>Draco grumbled and glared.</p><p>"Seriously. I'm brand new to all of this. And I'd really like to learn. You can have me for Yule next year, and teach me all about my grandfather, but I really want to learn about my grandmother, too."</p><p>Draco was still frowning, but was reasonably mollified, "Fine. Fine! But I'm holding you to it. <em> And </em> I get you the first week this summer."</p><p>The lot of them had agreed that instead of Harriet returning home for the summer, she would spend a little over a week at each of their houses, the summer break time divided six ways. She was extremely excited about the prospect, both for escaping the Dursleys, but also spending time with her friends and experiencing part of their lives.</p><p>Harriet grinned widely, genuinely happy thinking about a week to explore what Draco's life was like, "Deal."</p><p>
  <br/>
</p><p>They took the Hogwarts Express back to King's Cross, and had a cabin to the seven of them, giggling and gagging over nasty flavored Bertie Botts. Parvati's parents were there to pick them up, and Harriet got to experience her first side-along apparation. The tight squeeze was less than enjoyable, but she couldn't complain too much at the convenience. </p><p>The Patil family lived in a flat in London, over top a laundromat,  and Harriet worried she might inconvenience them by not having enough space, but Padma, Parvati's Ravenclaw twin, just laughed as they opened the door to their home.</p><p>From the outside, Harriet wouldn't have expected much in terms of size, but the inside had been expanded significantly, most likely thanks to magic. The entrance led to a great room, large and open, with a place to remove your shoes, a sitting area with plush and comfortable couches, a dining area with a long table and chairs, and a large kitchen in the back. Small windows visible from the street were transformed into full ceiling to floor windows, giving the space light and airiness. There were already women waving their wands to send knives to chop tomatoes and onions and wooden spoons to stir pots on the stove. Two small wrinkly creatures with large ears were working with them, peeling and adding potatoes to a large pot. A pressure cooker was whistling in the background, and Harriet was overwhelmed with the smell of spices.</p><p>An older woman shouted in excitement and hurried to greet them, speaking rapidly in a language Harriet couldn't understand and kissed Padma and Parvati enthusiastically. They both spoke back to her in whatever Indian language they were using, and then directed their attention to Harriet behind them, Harriet recognized her name in their fast clipped speech.</p><p>The old woman looked at her and switched to a strongly accented English, "Harry Potter? We are happy to have you. It is an honor. Please come in and have something to eat."</p><p>Parvati said something in that rapid Indian tongue and the old woman nodded and then said in English, "Yes, Parvati should show you where you are staying and so you can feel comfortable. Do you have any food you cannot eat?"</p><p>"No. I'm good," Harriet shook her head, and figured she should add politely, "Thank you very much for having me."</p><p>"Thank you for taking care of our Parvati."</p><p>Harriet chuckled, "It's the opposite actually. She takes care of me."</p><p>This pleased the woman as she had a wide smile before dismissing them with a short word to the twins that Harriet supposed meant "Now, go on. Shoo!"</p><p>Parvati led Harriet up a flight of stairs, and then up a second and third flight, which surprised her as from the outside, their apartment looked like it only had two floors.</p><p>"How big is this place?" Harriet said with awe.</p><p>Padma who was trailing behind, snickered, "Parvati told me you haven't spent much time around magic."</p><p>Parvati gave her sister a glare before replying, "Four floors, though only the first two have windows. It's magically enlarged."</p><p>"Four floors?! I only saw two outside over the laundromat!"</p><p>Padma grinned a little meanly, "Magical enlargement."</p><p>Parvati glared at her sister a little more deeply and said something that sounded a little biting in that rapid fire Indian language, then turned back to Harriet and said sweetly in English, "The first floor is the living area, second floor is rooms for my grandparents and uncle and his wife and our aunt. My parents and us and one of my cousins from the uncle on the second floor are on the third floor, and my second uncle and his wife and kids and another cousin and his wife and daughter live on the fourth. There's also a rooftop garden on top of that."</p><p>Harriet looked in awe, "Wow." She was beyond impressed by all that fitting in what appeared was such a small space, but there was a part of her that was happy for Parvati, having such a large family readily available. A part of her was worried about keeping track of them in the two weeks she was there.</p><p>Though as she got into another argument with her twin, them lobbing back and forth in that foreign tongue, Harriet wasn't sure Parvati truly appreciated all this family. It made her have a small private smile.</p><p>The twins didn't share a room, so Padma peeled off when they got up to their hallway. Parvati's room wasn't particularly big, and seemed even smaller with an obvious extra bed placed in it, but it was clean and nice. There were a number of books lined up on a carved dresser, a few drawings, done most likely by Parvati herself, hanging from the walls, and Parvati's bed had embroidered pillows and covers in bright colors that would otherwise be clashing, but here looked lively and bright.</p><p>"Is this okay?" Parvati asked.</p><p>"I love it!" Harriet grinned.</p><p>
  <br/>
</p><p>Harriet had the best Christmas she could ever remember, even though Christmas day itself was, at least in terms of decorations, a half-assed affair. Someone had transfigured one of the house plants into something vaguely spruce like with a couple of fairy lights, mostly to have a spot for the gifts the twins and Harriet got from their friends. Turns out they had missed the bigger celebration of Diwali by a few weeks, but they still acknowledged Christmas thanks to the influx of presents that had arrived from elsewhere.</p><p>Harriet felt flushed and happy at the small pile sitting under the Christmas tree that still couldn't quite shake the feel of a palm tree. She tore into them along with Parvati and Padma, as they were the only ones in the house of age to be receiving stuff from friends. All the other cousins were either too young or too old.</p><p>Harriet had received some fancy Belgium chocolates from Pansy, a hand carved wooden whistle from Hagrid, more sweets and toffee from Lavender, a book on Wizarding families of Britain with muggle post it notes marking what was likely Harriet's relatives from Hermione, a soft and warm blue scarf from Milly, and a large crate that Harriet didn't know whether to be touched or offended that held half a year's supply of her grandfather's hair potion from Draco.</p><p>Parvati cooed over the makeup set Harriet had owl ordered for her, which was a bit of a relief. Parvati herself didn't give Harriet a gift per se, but there was a large flat box under the tree addressed to Harriet from the whole Patil family. Most of the extensive clan that was awake had gathered, expectant as she opened it. </p><p>The lot of them, which was difficult to keep track of who was related to who and in which way, had already proven generous and kind, and though Harriet knew she should probably have been trying to observe whatever unique cultural differences their family had to absorb whatever "Indian-ness" was, she had a hard time looking past the Patils just being a good, generous, and occasionally chaotic family.</p><p>Harriet's breath hitched when she opened the box and discovered beautifully embroidered cloth, gold thread woven into emerald green in swirls and patterns. She lifted it up reverently seeing that it was a few different pieces, a set of matching clothes of some sort, and obviously of the highest quality. </p><p>"I...I can't accept this. It's too much! It's too beautiful!"</p><p>Parvati's grandmother, who insisted Harriet call her Dadi, closed her hands on top of Harriet's own on the cloth, "A beautiful girl should have beautiful clothes."</p><p>"B-but!"</p><p>Dadi insisted, in her strong accent and firm grip on her hands, "A beautiful girl should have beautiful clothes. This is right."</p><p>Harriet had never felt beautiful before, nor had any clothes even remotely considered nice, much less beautiful. Even Harriet could tell it was too much. But much like meals with the Patils, she had learned that they were generous to the point they would get upset if she didn't seem to eat practically her weight in food. They fussed and worried and never served Harriet that one dish she couldn't pronounce with beans again, when she only took one serving, rather than going back for thirds and fourths. This was probably the same, and Harriet couldn't bear to offend these people, despite this over the top present.</p><p>She said hesitantly, "I, er, don't know how to put it on. Would someone be able to help?"</p><p>This was the right answer, as Dadi smiled widely and said, "Of course. We'd love to get all three of you in a nice picture."</p><p>And so they did after another filling meal that Harriet had to insist again, that it was fine that there was no meat, and no she didn't miss a turkey roast, really, don't go out of your way, you don't need to pick one up for dinner, promise.</p><p>Parvati's mother helped Harriet with her hair, using her grandfather's Specialia of course, and helped place some borrowed gold jewelry in the smooth braid. She talked about how honored she was to have Harriet here and how happy she was that she was taking care of her daughter. How blessed and fortunate she felt, and then helped Harriet into the elaborate clothes. And when Harriet looked at herself in the mirror, she almost didn't recognize her reflection. </p><p>Smooth dark hair done in an elaborate plait, deep emerald cloth that made her eyes seem to shine brighter, and gold everywhere, in the cloth and in her hair and on her wrists.</p><p>Her heart skipped a beat when she realized there was a familiarity, her grandmother's graduation picture with gold ornaments in her hair as well.</p><p>"...wow."</p><p>Mrs. Patil put her hands on her shoulders, "I'm so glad it suits you. Parvati was the one to recommend green."</p><p>Harriet took a breath, trying to take in her own reflection, already having memorized the details of the few pictures of her grandmother. Harriet saw her distinctive hair, now much more manageable and shiny, but still with so much volume. Harriet decided to put Draco's gift to use more often.</p><p>"Thank you, Mrs. Patil," Harriet hoped that she read more into her words than just the compliment.</p><p>Parvati's mother smiled kindly and said, "Of course."</p><p>
  <br/>
</p><p>After spending a week babysitting Parvati's younger cousins, running around the rooftop garden, and reading through a number of Parvati's book collection, she was sent back to Hogwarts with a picture of the twins and Harriet all smiling and waving in the beautiful saris, all in a lovely frame. Harriet decided to owl order some more picture frames for the photos she had received from McGonagall, so she could display them better along with her new momento.</p><p>When she showed the picture to her friends on the Hogwarts Express, who mostly cooed and complimented, Draco alone got a weird face that Harriet couldn't describe. </p><p>"Oh, come on! I think I look nice! You can't actually still be upset about me going to Parvati's rather than your house."</p><p>Draco seemed to have caught herself and stuttered with a sour looking face, "Y-Yes! I'm still quite upset. You missed out on a perfect Yule celebration!" Her nose and the back of her neck were red and flush.</p><p>Parvati rolled her eyes and leaned over to whisper something to Draco, which Harriet could not hear. Draco turned and hissed back to Parvati, "You better," and Parvati just grinned a little wickedly.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>Parvati answered sweetly, "Nothing," while simultaneously Draco drawled, "Nothing that should concern you."</p><p>Harriet rolled her eyes, "Ugh. Why didn't someone give you a new personality for Christmas? You could use it."</p><p>"Well I would have sprung for something to fix your face, but alas, there haven't been any magical products to help your level of ugly permanently."</p><p>"God, I'm so glad I'm in Gryffindor rather than Slytherin, or else I'd have to deal with you 24/7."</p><p>"Just shows how utterly brainless you are. You just can't handle my level of wit and charm," Malfoy put her hand under her chin and her nose in the air. Such a pompous princess. </p><p>Harriet grinned a little wickedly, "Charm? You're telling me I wouldn't be able to charm a few snakes?" She looked over at Matilda snoozing pleasantly on Milly's lap. Now that she knew it was there, she could feel a slight shift in her brain and then turned back to Draco, hissing, "I think I could handle myself with a few snakes."</p><p>Draco's jaw dropped open, and her face flushed again. That look, making Draco blush. Harriet felt so satisfied getting that look out of her.</p><p>The sound of a painful groan distracted Harriet and turned to the noise. Hermione was slouching in her seat and looking morosely at the ceiling, "Why did I think I might have actually missed you two?"</p><p>"H-hey! Hermione!"</p><p>The rest of the girls all laughed.</p><p>
  <br/>
</p><p>A few weeks later, Pansy arrived a little late to breakfast, and plopped down at the Gryffindor table exclaiming with a determined look, "Good morning, girls. I have some news."</p><p>Lavender's eyes glittered in excitement, "Ooh! What?"</p><p>"Snape is going to be reffing the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff game."</p><p>The first year boys, while having gotten acclimated to the Slytherin girls near daily invasion, still hadn't quite given up the rivalry. Seamus groaned, "There's no way we can win now! He's going to award every penalty he can in favor of Hufflepuff."</p><p>Draco shrugged, "Hufflepuff is last at the moment, and if Gryffindor loses, it gives us a better chance at the cup. Seems a perfectly reasonable strategy."</p><p>Harriet rolled her eyes, "Oh, of course, you would. You wouldn't be the one getting penalties awarded against you."</p><p>Draco just gave her usual smug look. Ugh.</p><p>Pansy said, "I also heard something else," she hesitated a bit, "Dumbledore is also planning to attend."</p><p>The mood of the girls all dropped, as if the temperature of their little space was suddenly ten degrees colder. The Gryffindors boys though, seemed to still be in their own tropical bubble.</p><p>Seamus crowed, "Well good! Snape can't totally destroy our chance of winning!"</p><p>Hermione put her hand on top of Harriet's and said gently, "Maybe he is just interested in the game?"</p><p>Draco scoffed, "Meddling bastard."</p><p>Ron sniped, "Of course you'd say that, you snake."</p><p>Draco just hissed in his direction mockingly.</p><p>Harriet growled under her breath, "I hate that man so much," and Hermione squeezed her hand a little tighter. The boys didn't hear her.</p><p>After class they spoke more on the subject in the Gryffindor girl's dorm room, decidedly the best place to find total privacy.</p><p>"Maybe he's trying to discover what is going on between Snape and Quirrell and your broom?" Hermione offered.</p><p>Draco sneered, "To what end?"</p><p>Harriet nodded, "Seriously. I'd rather he not have even more control over my life. None of it can be good."</p><p>Hermione frowned, "I wish we had more information ourselves. The broom incident still doesn't make sense. And there's still the matter of the third floor corridor."</p><p>Pansy and Lavender both grinned at each other conspiratorially. Lavender said, "Well if it's information you need."</p><p>Pansy nodded and crossed her arms with seriousness, "There are already quite a few rumors about that. Some seem more legitimate than others."</p><p>Lavender nodded, "So far, we know a patch of devil's snare is guarding it."</p><p>Parvati asked, "How do you recon?"</p><p>"The fifth year Herbology students were working on it earlier this year, but it disappeared over Christmas, and Sprout's got them on something else."</p><p>Hermione said, "Well devil's snare is a N.E.W.T. level subject."</p><p>Pansy rolled her eyes, "I'm not going to ask how you know what sort of things you need to know for N.E.W.T.s as a first year."</p><p>Hermione looked a bit smug. </p><p>Harriet had to ask, "What's devil's snare?"</p><p>Hermione was happy to explain, "A magical carnivorous plant that thrives in cold damp places. It can be dangerous as it will wrap and entrap anything it can catch. Much like quicksand, the more you move, the more likely you'll be caught and die."</p><p>Draco asked, "What's quicksand?"</p><p>Harriet grinned, "Something muggle children worry about quite a bit."</p><p>As the others all looked a little worried for them, Hermione hit Harriet's shoulder in rebuke, "Harriet is teasing. Quicksand is a very very rare geological phenomenon. It <em> does </em> however appear quite frequently in muggle fiction."</p><p>Harriet looked pleased, "See? They do worry about it quite a lot."</p><p>Hermione rolled her eyes.</p><p>They continued to talk about various rumors surrounding the third floor corridor, including the validity of there being a dragon, a pool of lava, the troll they encountered at Halloween, and a dementor, which was a creature that had to be explained to Harriet.</p><p>Well, whatever meddling Dumbledore might have, Harriet had the best friends in the world to fight, and was assured that between them, they'd figure it all out.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Harriet and the Shattered Curios</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I wanted this fic to be funny and light-hearted!! Why can't I write something funny and light-hearted?!<br/>Girls talk about their feelings too much and all this abuse had to get sorted out first. Ugh.</p>
<p>Warnings for Dumbledore being an asshole and low-key abuser, and Harriet losing her shit about it.</p>
<p>And as always, thanks to Anra7777 for all her help!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>With the snitch fluttering in her hand, Harriet flew down to greet her friends rushing the field after what had to be one of the shortest Quidditch games at Hogwarts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You were barely up there!" Hermione exclaimed, "Four minutes? Five minutes? That has to be some sort of record! I'll look it up later."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet laughed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Draco sighed in disappointment, "Well there goes our chance at the cup." Snape did look fairly disgruntled. Rumor was he and McGonagall were quite competitive when it came to Quidditch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lavender surprisingly also looked disappointed, "You could have let things go at least a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little </span>
  </em>
  <span>bit longer, Harry." With a touch of betrayal Harriet had to ask why, and then Lavender looked longingly at the Hufflepuff's gathered on the other side of the field. "I wish I could have watched Cedric Diggory fly a little longer."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Parvati also sighed wistfully, "Oh, he is fit, isn't he."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet chuckled, "Oh. That's why. I was worried." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looked down the field at the Hufflepuff in Seeker's robes. Though his expression was disappointed, she could see the appeal. Harriet hadn't spent much time focusing on him during the game, but she could imagine him up on the broom in his hand, lithe and lean and quick. He raked a hand through his shiny brown hair to push it off his face, lovely and with a dimple on one cheek in a self deprecating smile. Harriet's cheeks warmed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh. I guess I can see why."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Draco looked like she had swallowed a lemon, and glared fiercely at Harriet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet just looked at her questioningly and frowned, "What? I'm just agreeing he's fit. Not like I'm going to do anything. If you want to go for him, be my guest."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Draco opened her mouth to speak but then frowned and crossed her arms. Though Harriet noted she did look slightly mollified. Maybe Harriet could help her and Cedric get closer, through Quidditch maybe. Draco was already a half decent flyer herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pansy looked out at Cedric and hummed, "Not my type. I guess he's fit, but a little too prince charming for me. A little </span>
  <em>
    <span>too</span>
  </em>
  <span> perfect, you know?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A tall shadow fell over the group, both literally and figuratively as Dumbledore walked up behind Harriet and coughed to note his presence. The girls all fell into silence and turned to look at the headmaster, who had a pleased twinkle in his eye for some completely unknown reason.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Miss Potter, thank you for a very notable Quidditch game."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet's mouth went dry, words getting caught in her throat. She nodded in response. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Might I have a word in private in...say an hour?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet looked at her friends nervously, and Hermione stepped forward, and asked confidently, "Can't she bring a friend or two along?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked at Hermione critically for a few seconds, never losing that smile, "That seems fine, as long as Harriet approves."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet gave a sharp nod. She would much rather face anything with her friends, Hermione especially. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dumbledore gave a small nod herself and turned, leaving the girls be, to have a word with Professor Snape.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Draco tugged on Harriet's uniform, "Come on. Go change. Need me to come with you?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione snorted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Not like that!" Draco barked at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Not like what?" Harriet asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Draco rolled her eyes, "Nothing. Just go get changed. We'll go drop off our winter robes and meet you outside the locker rooms."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet smiled at Hermione and Draco fondly. Despite her initial trepidation at Dumbledore's presence, she felt like she could face Voldemort himself if she had them by her side. Whatever that old meddlesome man had to say, she'd be fine somehow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The gargoyle guarding the entrance to the headmaster's office jumped out of the way when they arrived. Harriet had chosen Hermione and Draco to accompany her, though she waffled on Parvati joining as well, her being a constant mediating force. But Harriet didn't want a mediator for once. She wanted to find out what the fuck the headmaster wanted, and then get back to her life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dumbledore smiled as she entered the room, though his smile dropped a touch when he saw who had joined them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What is it?" Harriet asked warily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Ah, I expected Miss Granger and Miss Patil. Miss Malfoy is a surprise."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Draco only put on what Harriet recognized as her pompous arrogant mask, and said nothing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Well young ladies, please sit. Would either of you care for a lemon drop?" Dumbledore asked pleasantly and waved at the three chairs that scooted forward. A small crystal bowl with bright yellow candies floated their direction and Harriet shook her head. All the polite niceties were setting her more on edge, she just wanted to find out what he wanted and get back to the comfort of her dorm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No?" Dumbledore waved the dish away with a twirl of his fingers and steepled them in front of him, looking a touch like that boss from Simpsons. "I asked to meet you as there is something rightfully yours that should be returned to you."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet tilted her head, "Something of mine?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes. It belonged to your father. He let me borrow it a few weeks before his death at the hands of Voldemort," Hermione and Draco shuddered, and Dumbledore continued as if he did not notice, "and it has remained in my possession ever since. I was planning on having it delivered to you during Christmas if you had stayed, however the Patils took it upon themselves to host you over the holidays."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet frowned and said nothing. It seemed silly he didn't owl, but then he never gave whatever this thing was to her during her time at the Dursleys. It was obviously something magical, so maybe it would have been snatched away, tossed out, or damaged by them. The timing made better sense to her at least.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What is it?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dumbledore looked at Draco carefully, and then asked her directly, "I must ask you, Miss Malfoy. What are your intentions towards her?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Draco's face turned bright red and she sputtered, "N-None of your business!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dumbledore looked almost amused and then lifted a hand to correct himself, "My apologies as I phrased that incorrectly. I just wish to know where you would choose to stand, when Voldemort comes to power again."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Draco looked vaguely horrified. Voldemort's name dispelling any blush on her face, </span>
  <em>
    <span>"When?!</span>
  </em>
  <span> What do you mean </span>
  <em>
    <span>when?</span>
  </em>
  <span> The Dark Lord is dead. My family has moved on. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Everyone</span>
  </em>
  <span> has moved on."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, "Ah. I see that is your take on the situation." He looked pointedly at Draco, "So let's say hypothetically, Voldemort returns," Draco and Hermione shuddered again. Harriet really didn't mind the name, but she was starting to think Dumbledore was just doing it to be mean at this point, "what would you do?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Draco looked unflinchingly at him, "Are you thinking I would do anything to hurt Harry? Turn her over to the Dark Lord? Slytherins are loyal."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Ah. But loyal to who? What if your parents aligned with him? What would you do?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Draco opened her mouth to say something, then closed it, opened it again, frowned, and then said, "I doubt they would. My father was imperiused by the Dark Lord. They told me it was very difficult to shake their association with him, and I doubt he would be foolish enough to support someone like that again," Draco looked briefly at Harriet, blushed and didn't say anything more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dumbledore looked a little more deeply at Draco for a few awkward seconds before opening a drawer in his desk, and pulling out a long length of shining, iridescent cloth. He stood and held it out, and Harriet stood to take it. She felt it in her fingers, silky but solid and noticed it wasn't only cloth. There was a simple clasp in the shape of a triangle and the cloth also formed a hood. A hooded cape of some sort. Awe eclipsed whatever ill feelings Harriet might have had and asked Dumbledore, "What is it?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He said simply, "It is an invisibility cloak."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Draco and Hermione examined it closely, and Draco appeared as if she wanted to say something about it, but gave a wary look at the headmaster and kept her mouth shut.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet just nodded, not quite sure what to do. But it seemed that whatever it was Dumbledore had wanted was completed, so it was time to go. "Well...thank you for returning it."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As she turned to leave, Dumbledore said, "Please wait. I wanted to speak to you about one more thing."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet turned back and warily sat down, "What is it?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I wish to discuss your arrangements for the summer."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her breath caught in her throat. Whatever wariness she had was immediately switched to anger.. She didn't expect him to actually address it. The Dursleys. The fucking bloody awful Dursleys. Harriet growled, "What exactly do you wish to say?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I just wish to be sure you were planning on returning to them. Trust me when I say, it is the safest place for you."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was astonished. Absolutely thunder-struck at the gall. "What?!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dumbledore continued placidly, "It is certainly permissible to plan a short visit outside of your home, but you </span>
  <em>
    <span>must</span>
  </em>
  <span> return."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Draco was bristling ready to snap beside her, and Hermione just looked bemused at Dumbledore, as if he was a puzzle she needed to figure out. Harriet though, Harriet was furious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And why is that, headmaster?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dumbledore did that fucking Mr. Burns finger steeple again, "I'll be honest with you. It offers the best protection for you from Voldemort."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet stood up in her chair, raging, "Who the fuck cares about Voldemort! What about protection from you! Why the ever living fuck did you leave me with those horrible people! You know exactly who those people are! You know what they did to me! I don't need protection from Voldemort. I need it from You!" Two of Dumbledore's magical knick-knacks exploded with accidental magic. Draco and Hermione both gasped, but the debris was entirely spread around Dumbledore's back and desk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dumbledore's expression didn't change and said calmly, "Harry, you're getting hysterical. I suggest you calm down."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet chuckled darkly. Then laughed a little louder and harder, "Hysterical, am I?" Another knick-knack exploded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dumbledore didn't react in the slightest, "Yes. Quite. I'm sure we can talk rationally, and I can tell you exactly why you must return to your home."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet laughed and laughed. She held her sides, and bended at the waist laughing and laughing. Dumbledore just took it all placidly. She eventually stood up, and looked at the evil evil man and said, "I am never </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> returning to that house ever again."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet felt something crack. Something inside of her shifted, and then in an instant broke.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That. That got a reaction from Dumbledore, who's eyes widened in fear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He spoke quietly, just barely above a whisper, "I miscalculated." Dumbledore then frowned, like he was figuring out the solution to a problem, or trying to decide about a complicated chess move, "Yes. I miscalculated. But perhaps it's not completely broken."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet bristled, fuck. Fuck this horrible man. She was not a chess piece. She was a human being. She was never never returning to that place. Both because of the Dursleys and because she didn't want to be some fucking tool for this horrible person.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dumbledore's eyes shot up, and there was finally a look of surprise on his face. Some sort of real emotion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet growled, "Leave me alone. Don't interfere in my life. I will find my own way, but never fuck with me again."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked a touch desperate, "Ah, but there's so much you need to know."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Then tell it and get out of my life!" Another ridiculous curio exploded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dumbledore looked almost sad and regretful, "You shouldn't. It's too much for a child."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet laughed a little manic, "So I'm a child to be protected now?" She growled and said with as much venom as she could muster, and all the remaining trinkets and gadgets shattered at once in a spray of glass and metal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Goodbye, headmaster. I hope I never have to speak to you in any real capacity ever again."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet scooped up the cloak, turned, and left without another word.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet headed, stomping and determined, straight for the dorms. She couldn't speak, she was still so full of anger and fury and too much emotion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione asked hesitantly, "Are you okay?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet didn't look back. She never wanted to look back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hermione asked again, just as hesitantly, "Do you want to talk about it?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet growled, "No!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She continued stomping but a hand pulled at her wrist. She turned back around, furious at the interruption to see that it was Draco. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Draco shifted her hand from Harriet's wrist to hold her palm to palm. Draco looked...almost a mirror. Eyes dilated, nostrils flared open. She looked ready to fight. Ready to tear something apart at the seams. Savage. A mirror of Harriet, absolutely and viciously enraged. It was validating, vindicating, and Harriet felt was exactly what she needed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She squeezed Draco's hand in silent acknowledgement and then turned and continued on to the dorms, never letting go of that warm hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When they reached the entrance, Draco slipped her hand to leave, but Harriet squeezed it tighter, tugging to direct her inside. She went without a word.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It still was a bit early for bed, as the first years were all hanging out in the common room, but Harriet just tugged Draco upstairs. Hopefully Hermione got the hint and would talk to the lot of them. She was not prepared for dealing with anything at the moment. Scared that if she uttered a single word to the girls, it would likely be ones she would regret. She loved those girls and they didn't deserve any misdirected spite.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She crawled into bed, fully clothed, only bothering to toss the invisibility cloak irreverently across her trunk and kick off her shoes, and then tugged Draco to join her. She crawled in next to her and laid down while Harriet closed the curtains, sealing off the rest of the world. Without a single word spoken between them, Harriet laid her head on Draco's chest, automatically drawn to the comfort. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Draco wound her hands behind her back, one drawing lazy circles over her clothes and the other combed gently through Harriet's hair. There was total silence other than their shifting in bed, the pumping of Draco's heart under her right ear and the distant muffled noise of the common room below them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She didn't stop feeling absolutely furious, she would probably never stop feeling angry when it came to thinking about that horrible man, but it didn't take long for the sound of Draco's heartbeat, and her fingers combing through her hair, for deep exhaustion to set in, lulling her to sleep.</span>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If you hadn't guessed, Dumbledore was totally using Legilimancy the whole time. Sorry Dumbledore lovers out there. I think he was a great military leader and a genius magician, but a bit of a sociopath. No wonder Tom saw him as an equal.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Harriet and the Drooling Princess</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks to my fabulous beta Anra7777! This would be a very different fic without her.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Harriet woke up gradually. Everything felt fuzzy and indistinct. It didn't take her long to remember the events of only a few hours previous, but all the anger and outrage felt distant and far away. She still felt a little bit shaky and a bit like a new scab, sensitive and not healed entirely. She noticed that someone had removed her glasses, and concluded it was likely Draco. She turned her head on the pillow to take in her softly snoring companion beside her. </p><p>Draco was a bit of a sight once she had finally found some focus. Her pointy aristocratic face was pushed and distorted by the pillow, and her mouth was open, a puddle of drool pooling on the fabric. All of the pompous arrogance had been replaced by such ridiculous and rather disgusting vulnerablity. It was cute.</p><p>The raw and open feeling shifted inside of Harriet to amusement. She was successful at keeping her laugh tucked inside so as not to wake Draco, but it hadn't been a sure thing. Absorbing the picture Draco made: all smushed, mouth open, and quietly snoring, Harriet couldn't help but feel a bit more affection for her. Despite their rough start, Harriet truly appreciated and cared for the girl. It didn't stop her from being a pompous prick nearly all the time. Nearly, as obviously sleepy Draco was less than dignified. She really wished she had a camera. Anytime she was acting particularly prissy, Harriet could remember this moment. </p><p>With another internal snort of laughter when she looked at her smushed face, Harriet rolled onto her back to stare at the canopy ceiling. She was brought back to thoughts of the night before. </p><p>She wondered if there was going to be any fall out from her explosion at Dumbledore. God, hopefully all that stuff she inadvertently destroyed wasn't particularly valuable. But she was just so...angry! She remembered the feel of it rolling, burning, and ready to destroy. And as much as she absolutely hated that man and what he had done to her life, she wasn't out to kill anyone. All that feeling had to go somewhere. Well, at least if any of those trinkets were particularly valuable, her parents left her some money...but she also really didn't want to give Dumbledore a single knut for all he'd done. She thought, with an audible sigh, for how her life managed to work so far, she wouldn't be shocked if her little tiff drained her Gringotts vault. Murphy's law often seemed to reign supreme, or at least she had a combination of both the world's best luck and the world's worst luck. Ugh. </p><p>Plus, she wondered if she was truly done with Dumbledore messing with her life. Who knew if that horrible man would actually back off or not. And what the fuck was that 'I miscalculated' business? She was obviously a chess piece, a tool to him, but why? What had singled Harriet out to Dumbledore, and for that matter, Voldemort in the first place? Was she destined to become some great witch, like Draco and Parvati said all parselmouths were?</p><p>Despite worrying about all of that, she felt freer than she had in forever. She had never truly had support in her life, and with all her secrets out, all the suffering and pressure and people seeing her at her worst, she still had people who cared about her and stood beside her. She turned her head to take in Draco in all her drooling glory again. Whatever bad fortune she might have had, it seems it was rewarded with what had to be the best friends in the world. They were odd, all distinctive individuals, and sometimes rough around the edges, but they were brilliant and loyal and she couldn't help but think that she must have been Mother Teresa in a past life or something to deserve them.</p><p>Things were going to be okay.</p><p>Harriet spent more time staring at the canopy ceiling alone with her, thankfully, more pleasant thoughts. Eventually she drifted off again. </p><p>Harriet awoke significantly more refreshed with the sounds of the other girls starting the day. Draco was sitting up in bed looking spaced out and still half asleep, with a pillow crease imprinted to her right cheek. Harriet didn't hold back her laughter this time at the oh-so-dignified princess of Slytherin. </p><p>Draco frowned and glared, though with far less venom as it seems she couldn't summon the energy quite so early. "Oh, nice to see the bird's nest is back on your head."</p><p>Harriet just grinned and said, "You should probably take care of that," and demonstrated by wiping her own face the line of drool still stuck on Draco's. </p><p>Draco lifted her hand to check absent-mindedly and when she discovered the moisture, blushed furiously and scrubbed at her face vigorously. "S-shut up!" she stammered, glaring much more forcefully.</p><p>"I didn't say anything," Harriet grinned widely. Teasing Draco could make any morning brighter.</p><p>"You saw nothing!" Draco's blush couldn't have gotten deeper and more pervasive, and yet it did.</p><p>"See what?"</p><p>Draco opened her mouth to say something, but thought otherwise, shut it, and nodded firmly, "Good. Exactly. Glad we're in agreement."</p><p>Harriet stifled another laugh. Why hadn't she paid more attention at the last sleepover with the Slytherins? Draco was absolutely hilarious in the morning.</p><p>To the sound of the Lavender and Parvati exiting the room, Hermione opened the curtains to Harriet's bed canopy. She looked a little strained and stressed, like she hasn't slept well, but said with a certain amount of relief, "Oh, good. You're awake. You should get ready. Lavender picked up some clothes for you from the dorms, Draco." They'd already swapped passwords with the girls, and it wasn't unusual for Lavender to hang out with Pansy alone in Slytherin as they often were required to share whatever the latest gossip was immediately, supposedly on pain of death. None of the other Slytherins would think much of Lavender entering their dorms alone and heading to the first year girls room.</p><p>Draco had put on her typical dignified expression, which was still marred with that pillow imprint, "Thank you, Hermione. I'll give Lavender my gratitude later."</p><p>Hermione nodded and then said with some seriousness turning to Harriet, "I didn't tell them what happened. Do you feel comfortable about that, Harriet?"</p><p>Harriet would trust her friends with her life. The rest of the world? Never. But her friends? Always. "You can tell them if you want. But <em> just </em> them."</p><p>Hermione nodded and smiled a little tightly, she seemed to exude focus and intent and Harriet noted her eyes were red rimmed as if she hadn't only had difficulty sleeping, but had been crying also, "I- I am really, <em> really </em> glad you're here, Harriet. And I support you in whatever way you need." Hermione nodded firmly and then turned without giving her the chance to respond.</p><p>Harriet was left a touch bemused at Hermione's firm show of support along with her appearance, "What was that about? Has she been crying?"</p><p>Draco waved her hand dismissively, "I wouldn't worry too much. Hermione is so dedicated to following authority figures, she probably had a crisis of faith from shattered expectations."</p><p>"Huh?"</p><p>Draco groaned in her typical dramatic annoyance, "Some adults suck. Hermione just figured that out last night."</p><p>"Oh. I guess that would freak her out."</p><p>Draco just hummed.</p><p> </p><p>There was breakfast and classes and Harriet got pulled into some afternoon quidditch practice: all the trappings of an average day in a magical boarding school. Once the girls got some private free time, they also converged on their room in the Gryffindor dorms, Draco and Hermione filled them in about the events of the previous evening. It was fun having the others swoon over the invisibility cloak as it was supposedly unusual and unique. Invisibility cloaks were already rare and special but typically lasted only a few years, much less decades. Parvati theorized Harriet's cloak was so long lasting based on some family secret from her grandmother's family, the Rubabs, as they were magical cloth dealers. Their cloth dealing was what brought them to Britain in the first place, so it was most likely the case. Harriet really didn't want to thank Dumbledore for such a valuable family momento, so she wouldn't, even though it was lovely and gave her even more of a connection with her lost kin.</p><p>What was more interesting, at least to Harriet, was the different perspectives on the whole experience of that evening.</p><p>"Ugh! He was purposefully intimidating!" Draco ranted, arms flailing and then spinning into a high pitched mock voice, "Ohhh! I can do wandless wordless magic! Let me pull up your chairs! Want some unsanitary sweets that might be poisoned with any manner of dangerous potions? Let me just wandlessly shove them in your face!"</p><p>Lavender put her chin in her hand, "Well he is crazy powerful. He probably doesn't even need to use a wand or incantation at all."</p><p>Draco pointed a finger in rebuke, she really was animated in her movements once you got her going, "Ah, but why show it off? To a bunch of first years? Purposefully? Like we can't even pull up our own chairs. He wanted to intimidate us and he wants to control Harry."</p><p>Hermione nodded, "I usually would agree with Lavender and think he was just being thoughtless about his magical prowess, but I also read that he was trying to control Harriet, too. Some of the words he used were purposefully demeaning."</p><p>Pansy put her chin in her hand, mirroring Lavender, "But why would Dumbledore be trying to control Harry?"</p><p>Draco crossed her arms looking rather proud and smug, "She's obviously powerful. Even without all the defeating the Dark Lord business."</p><p>Harriet just tilted her head, "Huh? I'm not powerful. Or I don't feel particularly powerful."</p><p>Draco groaned long and painfully, and flung her arms out in exasperation, "Exactly! Hasn't that been Dumbledore's intention the entire time! Why would he send you to those shitty muggles and then keep you there?! Why would he try to intimidate you and control you?! He wants you to feel powerless! Either to keep you down or to control you."</p><p>Harriet thought about that. To a certain degree it made sense. She herself had the feeling of just being a chess piece or a tool in the eyes of the headmaster. But something still didn't match up, "But why do you think I'm powerful even without Volde-" the girls all shuddered, "-mort. Sorry. I'll stop. I know it bothers you."</p><p>Parvati laughed a bit, shaking off some of the nerves, "Well that seems a perfect place to start actually. Aren't you scared? There are always whispers of You-Know-Who coming back." She frowned and put her chin in her hand, "All of our families had experience with him in one form or another. Lavender's mum lost her first husband and my grandma lost her brother. Not that you haven't obviously lost a great deal to him, but you don't seem scared."</p><p>This was a bit shocking to Harriet. Parvati's grandmother, Dadi? Dadi's brother was killed by Voldemort? It gave a new layer of meaning to her interactions at the Patils over winter hols. She thought again about the elaborate sari folded in it's box at the bottom of her trunk.</p><p>Pansy said, "I do wonder though, about us being scared of him. Why are you reacting, Hermione? You didn't lose anyone, and yet Harriet who arguably lost the most is the one who couldn't give a flying bowtruckle."</p><p>Hermione shook her head, "No, I didn't lose anyone. But I picked up books in Diagon Alley about it. I must have cried for hours thinking about all those muggleborns and all the people who fought him," she sighed and twirled a piece of her hair in thought "though to be honest, much of my emotion was probably also mixed up in worry about being accepted, even with learning about magical Hitler. What was it like for purebloods? I heard some sided with him, but pureblood ideology is obviously not monolithic."</p><p>The three were silent, but Draco finally said, much subdued, "I've heard people say my family sided with him, but my parents don't really talk about it. Mother told me once that the Dark Lord was terrifyingly powerful. That you had to make a choice to either align with him or die. But she only said that once. Most of the time I get things like 'you're too young for such talk,' and 'that's better discussed when you're older.' My father has never told me anything. I heard he was imperioused from outside sources, but he has never spoken on it. Never."</p><p>Draco's family might have sided with Voldemort? It didn't sound like it was with much enthusiasm. Though something confused her, as that was the second time she had heard that word 'imperioused', the last being the night before. "What does imperiused mean?"</p><p>Hermione explained, "It's a forbidden and illegal spell. It essentially puts another person under your will. Supposedly You-Know-Who was quite skilled at it and used it frequently. Like muggle mind control."</p><p>Most of the girls, sans Harriet and Parvati gasped. Draco asked, "Muggles have a form of imperious?! Mind control?!"</p><p>Hermione looked a bit amused, "No, it's entirely fictional...well sort of? There are such practices as indoctrination and brainwashing, but none of them are immediate, taking weeks and months and often years of shaping the environment of a person, then using various psychological tactics to exert pressure," Hermione explained waving a hand almost distractedly. Harriet wondered how she managed to have such a good memory for any of this in the first place. "I promise, the likelihood of any of you encountering such things are extremely unlikely, and to be honest, I'm sure the magical world is just as susceptible to such things as it is more a manifestation of enforcement of power dynamics. It's entirely manipulation and control, which is not exclusive behavior to the muggle world… but we're getting off topic. I really would love to hear your perspectives on the war. What sort of choices your families made."</p><p>Pansy laughed, mostly affectionately, "Thank Merlin you're such a swot. Our own bushy haired library." She continued with a bit more seriousness, biting her lip in a rare show of nervousness, "My immediate family stayed out of the war, though I had a few cousins on both sides. The ones fighting for the muggleborn side didn't make it. There was quite a bit of infighting and my parents told me it was actually quite difficult to remain neutral, but we're Slytherins. We're dedicated to survival. The side with the cousins that died don't talk to us much, but then neither do the ones that sided with the Dark Lord."</p><p>When they turned to Milly for her turn, she said with a touch of nervousness, "We were neutral too...sort of. I'm half blood."</p><p>The Gryffindors all looked a little shocked at this though it seemed it was already known by the Slytherins. Milly seemed to sense only surprise and no revulsion or disgust, so she continued.</p><p>"My mum is muggle, but comes from old money, distantly related to nobility, though it was lost a few centuries ago so I'm not a 'lady' or anything. But it was enough that the Death Eaters didn't bother with our family. They probably figured it would have been easy to blackmail us, and my mum passes well. She is always good at molding her image to what she wants."</p><p>Parvati held her hand tenderly, "I didn't know you had muggle relatives. You didn't seem to know much muggle culture."</p><p>Milly shifted around a little uncomfortably but smiled at Parvati, "I don't really. I mean, we had a telly, but I never really watched it. It was mostly etiquette lessons and posture and dance and things like that. I liked the abraxas riding lessons, though we started with muggle horses first. I mostly just spend time with them and the other creatures that live on the property. I still ride my muggle horse, Sunshine."</p><p>Parvati squeezed her hand and smiled kindly, "Thank you for sharing with us."</p><p>Milly smiled gratefully and gave her hand a squeeze back. </p><p>Draco nodded, as if this wasn't new information to her and then redirected the conversation, "We're getting off the main topic here. Harry, it is a travesty that you don't know your own power." The other girls also nodded or gave their agreement in some way. "Even though logic is not your strong suit-"</p><p>"Hey!" Harriet gave a mock glare, but Draco's light barbs set her at ease.</p><p>Draco sneered playfully, as if knowing full well what her insults did, "We'll try and do this logically. Do try to keep up if you can." Draco gave Harriet an appraising look and asked, "I have a feeling I know the sort of answer you'll give, but what sort of accidental magic did you do before you got your wand?"</p><p>An odd question, but considering all the accidental magic she performed last night, it probably made sense, "Huh? Oh. I dunno. One time my cousin put gum in my hair and my aunt had to cut it and it grew back overnight. And then one time my cousin and his lackeys were chasing me at school and I found myself two floors up on the roof. Then there was the godawful jumper my aunt wanted me to wear that shrank so I didn't have to wear it. And at the zoo, there was a Brazilian python that was technically British because he told me he was born here though he really wished to go visit Brazil so I vanished the glass on the exhibit and let Dudley and his friend fall in, and then made the glass reappear so they'd be stuck inside. It was pretty funny actually. I hope the python made it to Brazil…I'm pretty sure the appearing on the school roof was the first I can remember, but that's all of them"</p><p>Draco sighed dramatically, "Of course. Harry, you're extraordinary."</p><p>"But doesn't everyone do accidental magic?"</p><p>"Yes, they do, but it's usually relatively simple. Your hair thing and the sweater would qualify, but not teleportation, nor vanishing an object and then making it reappear. That's actually very advanced magic. What were your emotions like at the zoo?"</p><p>Harriet shrugged, "Annoyed? I dunno. I thought it might be funny. I kind of felt bad for the python. Nothing too crazy."</p><p>Draco made a pained noise and looked at the ceiling, "Of course, you were just mildly annoyed."</p><p>Parvati said, "Accidental magic is usually tied with strong emotions, and generally either simple spells or something very personal in its more complex. My first accidental magic was when Padma got lost and everyone was worried and upset. I knew where she was and able to give my parents direction. The equivalent of a direct-me spell, though tied to a person, my twin, rather than a location."</p><p>"My first was when I summoned my favorite stuffed animal from a different room," Pansy offered.</p><p>"I was an odd ball and my first was that I just knew what my 6th birthday present was before I opened it, and I've had premonitions mostly in terms of dreams. But you know, seers blood, good intuition," Lavender said. </p><p>Draco said, "I magically cleaned my favorite toy when it fell in the mud." Harriet snorted. Still prissy even as a small child.</p><p>Hermione and Milly both seemed a little hesitant to answer, and Harriet said to them, "You don't need to tell me."</p><p>Milly and Hermione both shook their heads, and there was a bit of polite scuffle between them of "you go ahead," "no, no, you seem ready." </p><p>Finally Hermione answered, "I have an uncle who insisted I should have only boy things, mostly clothing. I got so upset about it, and transfigured the lot into pink and purple floral dresses and jumpers and knickers and everything. Not really my style as I learned eventually, but I was just so upset and angry that it didn't matter."</p><p>Malfoy groaned, "Of course you'd be the precocious one. Transfiguration, and a whole closet of objects."</p><p>Hermione only blushed, but looked pleased.</p><p>Milly then answered, "One of the boys my mother tried to encourage a connection with, I silenced. He only said mean things, so I cursed him so he completely lost his voice." Milly was so shy. Harriet wondered if part of that was just pure personality, and whether part of that was what sounded like being forced to be around shitty people.</p><p>Parvati asked, "I'm sorry, Milly. He must have been pretty awful. May I ask who?"</p><p>"Terence Higgs," Milly blushed and smiled shyly, "If it helps, it was such a good curse, he had to be admitted to St. Mungos."</p><p>Pansy exclaimed, "The Seeker?"</p><p>Harriet asked, "For Slytherin?"</p><p>A series of nods were answer enough, and Harriet grumbled, "Now I'm doubly chuffed I won that game." She turned to Draco and exclaimed, "You have to replace him as seeker next year. You're a good enough flyer. You could do it."</p><p>Draco looked pleased and sneered smugly, "Who says I wasn't planning on it anyways."</p><p>Harriet grinned, "Good. Plus it'll be good for you to get closer to Cedric since you like him so much."</p><p>"N-no! I do not! I don't care about some Hufflepuff! As if!" Draco stammered and it took a bit, but the blush formed across her nose and on her ears.</p><p>"Uh-huh. Suuure. I believe you." Harriet grinned even wider.</p><p>Draco only groaned and covered her blushing face with both hands, "Anyway," she uncovered her hands and glared at Harriet, the blush had spread further, "You're ridiculously powerful with your accidental magic, the other night was proof alone. Who knows what sort of protective enchantments that office contained? Much less such directed and intentional destruction, and I feel quite honored you decided to craft that protective barrier for Hermione and me."</p><p>"Protective barrier? Did I?"</p><p>Hermione and Draco both nodded. </p><p>"Oh...I mean, I remember being a little worried about you guys getting hit by the debris, but I don't remember the barrier. Maybe instinctually? Like...I felt so angry and felt it all needed to go somewhere, but I didn't want to actually hurt anyone..."</p><p>Harriet remembered the spray of all the bits of objects littering Dumbledore's desk and back, but none came close to them. It did seem odd. She knew deep down that she would feel terrible if Draco or Hermione had ever gotten hurt because of her. Harriet felt happy she was the one to protect them, that even at her worst, she still kept them safe, accidental magic or not. There was still an insidious voice that repeated that Harriet was a worthless freak that would amount to nothing, but as she was starting to recognize that voice sounded more and more like Aunt Petunia, Harriet chose to believe in her friends. Maybe there was something there. That she was special and important, even if it was only to these girls, and that in itself felt pretty damn good.</p><p>"I'm glad you and Hermione were okay. I'm sorry if I scared you."</p><p>Draco shook her head, "If anything, I'm glad that manipulative bastard had a mess to clean up."</p><p>Harriet giggled a bit and then opened her mouth to say something more but whatever else she was going to say was interrupted as Matilda. She seemed to have been taking a nap inside Milly's robes, and slithered out, giving a wide yawn, "What a niccccce dream."</p><p>Harriet laughed and welcomed the interruption from such pleasant and uncomplicated company. It seemed all Matilda wanted in life was to sleep, cuddle with Milly for warmth, and have a quail egg once in a while. Seemed like a good life. "Hey, Matilda. What did you dream about?"</p><p>"Hello Harry. I dreamed I wassss having a niccccce conversssssation with the Queen of Sssssnakessss. She knew where to find a whole mountain of quail eggssssss. They were delicccioussss."</p><p>"Queen of Snakes? Is there such a thing?"</p><p>"Of coursssse," Matilda yawned again, "She livessss here at Hogwartsssss. In the catacombssssss."</p><p>"What? Really? The Queen of Snakes lives here?"</p><p>"Well she's not the only queen in the world, but she's one of them. Jiaolong would like you. There aren't many sssspeakersss and she caresss about the sssstudentssss. Jiaolong is one of the guardianssss of Hogwartssss. I could ssssset up a meeting. Take you to vissssit."</p><p>Milly spoke, switching Harriet's brain back to human speech, which was becoming easier and easier to recognize, "I always wonder what she's thinking. Is there something Matilda wants? What did she say?" </p><p>Harriet wondered how rude it probably seemed that the others couldn't understand their conversation. She also thought about how Milly was so attuned to Matilda despite not being able to communicate in words, and maybe that was her own special form of magic. Either way, she might as well translate for the others, especially since it probably was pretty rude having conversations they couldn't partake in.</p><p>"Oh, just that she wants to take me to meet one of the Queens of Snakes, named Jiaolong. She's a guardian of Hogwarts and supposedly lives in the catacombs."</p><p>"You're joking." Draco laughed and then after a beat, groaned painfully, "Oh, Merlin, you're not even joking. You're completely serious," and she dramatically groaned again. Draco had been doing quite a bit of groaning, "And I thought being away from the manor and off to school would be boring. Harry, you can add whatever this ridiculousness is to your magical repertoire. Not powerful, my arse!"</p><p>Harriet just grinned.</p><p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yes, Mother Teresa is a controversial figure, but this is the early 90s...Harry doesn't know better.</p><p>I hope all the conversation wasn't too boring. </p><p>Thank you for every single kudos, comment, or bookmark! I deeply appreciate every single one and it makes me feel so very fuzzy and wonderful!</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Harriet and the Hornless Dragon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks again to the wonderful Anra7777!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
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  <span>Whatever fallout there might have been with Dumbledore, Harriet didn't encounter it. The man hadn't shown up anywhere, outside of the occasional meal in the Great Hall, in which he focused on conversing with the teachers rather than giving even the slightest glance towards Harriet or her companions. She didn't know whether he truly decided to leave her alone, or whether he was still scheming out of Harriet's line of sight. She would occasionally snort in thought of that man: that poor imitation of Gandalf with a terrible personality. Harriet never read those books herself as Aunt Petunia would have eaten her own hat before allowing such magical nonsense in the house, and Harriet herself had trouble reading. But she did have that nice reading specialist in primary school talk about them frequently enough, and she quite enjoyed listening to her read them aloud, up until Aunt Petunia got wind of it, and then she was back to boring primers with a reading specialist scared of unemployment.</span>
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  <span>Still, why couldn't fake-Gandalf go fight a Balrog or something, rather than focus on fucking with Harriet? She hoped those days of being manipulated were finished. She did remind herself to ask if Hermione had any of those books. Maybe she could get better at reading if it was more entertaining than the History of Magic textbook, not that Professor Binns was likely doing the subject justice.</span>
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  <span>Either way, Harriet had fallen into a peaceful routine of quidditch practices, classes (and headaches in DADA, which she firmly decided not to see Madam Pomfrey for, as she would likely report to Dumbledore), and hanging out with her friends studying together and complaining about inconsequential things. It was quite wonderful and Harriet was supremely happy.</span>
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  <span>There was one event that broke up her new familiar peace, as Matilda had spoken with Jiaolong, and it seemed the Queen of Snakes was far more hesitant than Matilda had originally suggested. According to Matilda, she had a bad experience with an untrustworthy student at one point, though she often spent time with all of the local snake population fairly frequently. Either way they would need special permission as they were human rather than serpent and it all took a few weeks, but the queen eventually agreed to see them. According to her "if Milly ssssayssss you're okay, she will meet you. She trussstssss Milly."</span>
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  <span>"But Jiaolong hasn't ever met Milly before."</span>
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  <span>"She's heard me talk about Milly. She knowssss her type and trusstss her judgment."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So on a free Saturday, Harriet, Draco, and Hermione followed tiny slithering Matilda through the corridors of the castle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco and Hermione had been the only ones to volunteer, though Harriet would have preferred Milly to come along as well, as she had a way with all manner of creatures and it seemed Jiaolong trusted her. But it had all seemed a bit too much for the gentle, a soft spoken girl, not to mention her other friends. Giant massive winged horses were okay, but giant massive snakes weren't. Even though Milly loved creatures far more than people, Harriet didn't blame her and the others too much for being spooked, not that she herself felt too worried. Harriet was going to the catacombs of the school! It sounded far more exciting than anything, so Harriet chalked it up to the other girls' losses on a neat adventure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Supposedly the entrance for humans (as there were other entrances for snakes of various sizes scattered throughout the school) was in the second floor girls bathroom… with Myrtle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet thought all the ghosts at Hogwarts were fascinating, and Myrtle would usually be, except that she spent all her time whinging and moaning and anytime she cried, the sinks would automatically turn on and flood the space. It all made talking to her far more annoying than interesting, and they avoided the second floor bathroom as a whole. She got wet enough when spells went awry in Charms, or from whatever oozing or exploding magical plant she encountered in Herbology. Hopefully with a little smooth talking, they could avoid a flood all together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They followed Matilda to the second floor girls bathroom, and Harriet took a look at Draco and Hermione's shared apprehension of an encounter with Myrtle before taking a steadying breath, then swung open the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey, Myrtle…" Harriet put on a probably obvious fake grin, but it seemed all was for naught, as Myrtle looked down at Matilda, then with a choked squeak, turned even more pale despite being dead, and rushed through the wall, disappearing without a word.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What was that about?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It seems Matilda scared her," Hermione observed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco sneered, "What would a ghost be scared of a snake for? Not like she could be killed twice."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet hissed at Matilda, "You haven't been terrorizing any ghosts lately?" She doubted it. Matilda spent all her time sleeping and cuddling in Milly's warmth and had no other real aspersions in life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"She was killed by a sssssnake, sssssso she'ssss sssscared of them."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Really?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Matilda nodded, "Jiaolong told me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet switched back to human speech, "Supposedly, Myrtle was killed by a snake."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione said with a touch of pity, "Really? Oh poor Myrtle… But that would make sense, if she's still scared of them. But then how would Matilda know?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet shrugged, "The Queen told her. I suppose we could ask her soon."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Speaking of, Matilda slithered to the sink that never worked, (always notable because Myrtle's tears made all the sinks flood but that one) and hissed "Open."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sink and a whole section of wall sunk further back, revealing a dark drop, like a large sewer line sliding into nothingness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well that's not ominous," Draco noted as she looked down and heard the echo bounce deep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet just grinned, "Scared, Malfoy?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco just scoffed, "You wish, Potter."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Matilda hissed, "Pick me up and then slide down."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet picked up the snake gently and held her to her chest, sat and then scooted to the entrance. With a wide grin, she said to Hermione and Draco, "See you at the bottom!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wait! You don't even know where it goes!" Hermione protested but she was already off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet had seen commercials about water parks and the giant slides involved and overheard kids talking about such things at school, and she had to wonder if this was anything like that. She hugged Matilda more securely along her chest and gave a loud wallop of glee as the pipes twisted and turned, speeding her along.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sadly, though it was probably for the best considering her estimations on how deep they were, the pipes leveled out and plateaued, slowing her descent down to a crawl and then a halt. Draco and Hermione both slid in to a stop behind her. They all managed to stand, and Hermione performed a few cleaning spells over the lot of them, then Harriet set Matilda down on the stone floor and they continued following their serpent leader.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione said with a bit of awe, "I wonder how deep below the castle we are. None of this is in any of the books I've read. There's nothing about any sort of catacombs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco said, "I haven't heard of anything like this either. Though supposedly the house elf quarters are quite deep underground."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"House elf quarters?" Hermione questioned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco nodded, "Hogwarts supports one of the largest communes in Britain. But this is probably far deeper than that. Though to be fair, not many wizards have seen the true depths of their homes. Not if they value their lives at least."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione attempted to ask further about this, but a particular sight banished any other thoughts from her mind. As they passed a massive shed snake skin, they all paused to take it in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet said, "Well...the queen of snakes does seem about right." She hissed to Matilda, "Are you sure she's safe?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Of coursssse. She lovesss the sssstudentssss here. She protectssss them."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It didn't exactly sound like she wanted to meet us."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It'ssss for her protection and that of the sssstudentssss than anything elsssse. She lovesss the sssstudentssss and doesssssn't want any harm to come to them."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet shrugged and then translated for Draco and Hermione.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione sighed in resignation,  "If you say so."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco whinged, "Oh why did I always wish to go on dashing adventures when I was young. Merlin, was I a foolish child."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet sniggered, "I dunno. You're still pretty dumb now."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco just glared, but despite her complaints, she showed no signs of actually wishing to go back, and they all continued on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They reached big fuck-off doors carved elaboratedly with serpents, which unsealed with another hiss of "open" from Matilda. Harriet had a hard time imagining trying to navigate this place without being a parselmouth, even though the word open was a pretty terrible password otherwise. She said so to Hermione and Draco.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well parselmouths are very rare. That should be deterrent enough," Hermione theorized.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How do you say 'open' again?" Draco asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Open," Harriet hissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco tried to emulate it. And again. And again. She got it on the fifth try. Hermione got it on the third.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By that time they reached a great carved wall with a sort of grotesque Gothic face with a massive opening for the mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Queen Jiaolong! I brought the sssspeaker and more friendsssss of Milly!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They thought they might have been prepared for how big the queen could be, but they still felt overwhelmed when out of the carved mouth came what had to be the largest snake Harriet could even imagine. It would not have been hard for her to eat the three of them in one bite. This sort of creature had been hanging around below Hogwarts all this time? Thank god it was a guardian of the school, because she couldn't imagine the kind of damage it could do if it chose otherwise. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked at them and then hissed, her accent felt a little funny to Harriet, but somehow she understood it just the same. It felt old and distinctive and intelligent and much more...human? Not human, no, but like one that understood humans more than any of the other snakes she'd encountered before and was actively trying to bridge the gap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Welcome Harriet Potter, Draco Malfoy, and Hermione Granger."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thank you for meeting with us," Harriet hissed, and then turned to Hermione and Draco to let them know what she had said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione addressed Jiaolong directly, "Thank you for letting us meet you. Matilda told us you are a guardian of Hogwarts?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet started to translate, but it seemed it was unnecessary, as Jiaolong understood human speech, but was incapable of producing it herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes. Since a few decades after its founding. My old friend asked me to guard his school. I wanted a quiet place to cultivate, so it was a mutually beneficial situation."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After Harriet translated, Draco asked as she picked up Matilda who had slithered up to her, obviously deciding to use her as a warm napping spot, "Your old friend's school?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Salazar Slytherin," Jiaolong replied. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wait, what?! You mean one of the founders?" Harriet hissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiaolong chuckled and said, "Go on and translate, speaker."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was patient with them, almost amused at their shock, when Harriet told them. Draco herself squawked her surprise before Hermione collected herself and asked, "What do you mean 'cultivate'?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I am aspiring to become one of the true dragons. Right now I'm still only a hornless dragon, in charge of small waterways. Hopefully as I practice in my spiritual path, I'll achieve a higher status."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet was getting much better at intentionally switching between parselmouth and human and she translated everything. Hermione snapped her fingers in understanding, "Like a Taoist immortal!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiaolong nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet questioned Hermione, "A doughy immortal what?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione shook her head in exasperation, "A Taoist immortal. They spend years, decades, and stories talk about those who have achieved longevity spending </span>
  <em>
    <span>centuries</span>
  </em>
  <span> working and meditating and striving to strengthen their own internal spiritual energy. Imagine if you've achieved eternal life and you spent the endless time you have dedicated to improving your magical core. Jiaolong is a Taoist immortal!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wow," Harriet said with some awe, but something bothered her, "You want to be a dragon? Don't they get killed often by wizards? How can dragons be immortal?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiaolong snorted, with her size they all got a small hit of dry air, "Dragons are different where I originally come from. Those beasts you speak of are lower creatures. Dragons are wise, powerful, they can shape the earth and the skies. However I'm not technically immortal. Jiaolong can be killed, just like all creatures, but I will not die of old age."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione asked, "Does Jiaolong have a translation? I'm assuming from Chinese?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It had many translations. Hornless dragon, or scaled dragon is the closest. Some refer to beings such as myself as the Queen of Serpents, basilisks, or flood dragons. We control waterways, and I protect the lake here, from any intruders."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco looked immediately up at her eyes, "B-basilisk?!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiaolong seemed to sigh, and then nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione looked confused, "What is it?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco bit her lip and then shook her head looking straight at the snake, "Obviously the stories of basilisks are misinformed."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiaolong hissed and almost seemed sad, "Ah, no. I can kill if you look at my eyes without protective covering. I have my third eyelids down so as not to hurt you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wait, third eyelids?" Harriet hissed, and then remembered again to translate her own line.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiaolong blinked an opaque set, then a translucent set next, "First for eye cleaning, second for when I'm in the water, third is for controlling my power."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione appeared to be fighting with herself, as if there were too many questions to be asked, but she started with, "Are there any other guardians?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes. There are, and were. The sorting hat is one. The descendant of Huginn. The Hafgufa is one of my generals. He helps me guard the lake. Godric and Helga each chose guardians, though they are gone now. There are also parts of the castle itself, but I shouldn't tell too many of its secrets."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione seemed to be absorbing every word even as Harriet tried her best to pronounce names that obviously didn't have a translation. And yet still had human words associated with them? Oddly she could almost feel magic in the odd words. Words supposedly had magic, right? Even if it wasn't in English. Huginn was a...bird? And Hafgufa was a sea beast of some sort. It had to be the giant squid that lived in the lake. This was rather confusing. She wasn't even sure if some of the words didn't come out in snake by accident. All the translating she was doing for Jianlong was messing with her head, and she said so to her friends as she described what she thought the names actually meant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione confirmed, "Words do have magic! Or at least the act of communication. There are fascinating examples of the magic of those who use hand language, but the theory goes that it's an inherent act of creation and agency. But names in particular can have power."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco explained in her usual drawl that Harriet was learning wasn't completely condescending, not </span>
  <em>
    <span>completely </span>
  </em>
  <span>at least, "Names absolutely have power. Why do you think everyone uses euphemisms for the Dark Lord? 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named,' 'You-Know-Who,' etc."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Who is this dark lord you speak of?" Jiaolong asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Voldemort," Harriet answered her straight in parselmouth. Jiaolong stood up and back, filling the whole ceiling, hissing like a cobra. The sight was alarming to all the girls, Hermione herself screamed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiaolong saw her effect on the students and lowered herself slowly, trying to look less intimidating, but that was probably a tall ask considering her size and that she was a gigantic fuck-off snake with magical powers, "I apologize. I wish you no harm. I had personal dealings with your so-called Dark Lord. We guardians call him 'the Severed.' We also do not use his name of power. He is a terrible abomination."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione and Draco were visibly relieved when Harriet explained, and Hermione's curiosity again trumped whatever fear she might have been feeling, "You encountered You-Know-Who?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"He was a student at Hogwarts. I met him when he was a sixth year. Powerful, and ambitious, and unfortunate for many, adept at the Imperius curse. He performed it on myself, and I was sadly weak against it. I harmed many, and to my great shame, killed one. She came upon me in surprise and I was unable to look at her from a surface rather than directly," Jiaolong hung her great head like a guilty dog, "it is a great shame and I have spent my time since then in remorse and meditation."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco seemed to be the one to connect the dots first, and asked with a gasp, "Was it Myrtle?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiaolong nodded her bowed head, "I fought the imperius as well as I could; choosing to gaze using surfaces, as my killing gaze will petrify instead, and is entirely recoverable. My pride and vow as a guardian is on the line after all. But she was sitting at the human entrance, and she caught me by surprise."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She proceeded to tell the tale of Tom Marvolo Riddle, an orphan half-blood and parselmouth, with an insatiable curiosity for dark magic and any information she could give about her old friend Salazar. He'd discovered her in much the same way Harriet had, as he heard about her from the local snake community. Supposedly he was extremely disappointed and angry that she didn't hold any ill will towards muggle-borns, and felt that it was his duty as the last remaining survivor of the Slytherin line to get rid of them. He felt entitled to Jiaolong's servitude as he was the final heir of her old friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco interjected with a look of awe, "I heard of this! It was during my grandfather's time! There were attacks on muggleborn students, all in the name of the Heir of Slytherin, but I heard they caught the student and he was expelled! The Dark Lord...half-blood and expelled from Hogwarts; what a hypocrite!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Riddle was a half-blood but he was not expelled. He framed another student, and I...was too afraid to take him on after he so easily imperiused me. I was worried if I encountered him again, I might kill another student once more. I hid and meditated, and let such a person continue to grow. It is a great shame that I was weak to him. Perhaps if I had found a way to kill him early on, or even after I could have prevented more deaths beyond Hogwarts, but I chose not to for fear of hurting more students, and I did not wish to harm him at the time, as he was still a student as well. Yet I did nothing, and still do," Jiaolong turned her large head in shame and remorse, "I still fear him."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione said consolingly after Harriet finished her translation, patting Jiaolong's massive form with her laughably far smaller hand, "You weren't the only one. You-Know-Who was terrible."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco nodded, "My father was also imperioused by the Dark Lord."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione nodded vigorously, "And you did your best to save the muggleborns by gazing at reflections! Not everyone can fight an imperius like that! I'm sure if you wanted to, you could have killed every single living thing in this school. You're very fearsome. But you didn't! You can't be blamed for what happened to Myrtle. You-Know-Who was the real enemy." She smiled a little shyly, "I'm especially happy that you don't actually want to hurt muggleborns."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiaolong turned back and stuck out her tongue to lick at Hermione's face affectionately, and Hermione giggled. Jiaolong almost seemed to smile but then continued with a bit more seriousness, "Salazar instituted his rules and preferences because many of his students had fled from muggle communities, scared and afraid. Many had lost parents and siblings in very violent manners and had barely escaped themselves. They were terrified of muggles and those associated with them and Salazar wanted to give them a safe space where they need not be in fear of discrimination or violence of any kind. Muggles held great power then, and there were instances of muggleborns turning on purebloods to save themselves. It was a scary time for wix, both muggleborn and not. Salazar just wanted a safe place for his students to heal and grow. He took in the ones most traumatized: the ones that desired power to shape their own destiny and no longer live in fear, the ones with ambition and drive and resourcefulness, the survivors."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet thought again about what the hat had told her during her sorting as she translated for Hermione and Draco. That Slytherin house was for those with the desire to prove themselves and who want power to shape their own destiny. People who were resourceful because they needed to be. Slytherins were for survivors and Harriet was worthy of that house. She was a survivor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiaolong continued, "I do remain cloistered and more deeply focused on protecting the waters of Hogwarts, and freely admit it, however I can see that times have changed. I have sensed no danger from muggle kind for a very very long time, and Huginnson often let's me know most of what I need for the school at large and the world outside. Purebloods are not entering with the same traumas as they were during my early days as a guardian, but the sorting hat must follow the founders' rules to the letter, even if they are rules that are obsolete."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco lifted and gazed at her own green and silver tie with a pensive look on her face before her stomach gave a loud grumble, echoing embarrassingly around the cavern. Everyone laughed good naturedly, even Jiaolong hissed out a chuckle, as Draco's face turned that ever entertaining shade of red.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiaolong said, "I have enjoyed your company greatly, but you are small and growing and should return for your meals. However I would enjoy a visit again, if you ever wish to do so. Please keep my presence a secret, at least among the friends of Milly. I am better able to continue my guard and as you have learned about the Severed, it is best if very few know of me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The three of them all gave their thanks and promise, and Jiaolong escorted them to the base of the pipes from where they came from. She directed them to a flat piece of rock lodged off to the side of the cavern, with a rune carved into one of the corners and then asked them to sit down upon it firmly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiaolong said with a hiss of "Up" and the stone rose into a hover for a second, and they felt a lurch of imbalance before Harriet felt the odd sensation of being pulled by some sort of strong gravitational force onto the stone below them. She didn't have long to process the feeling because a split second later she was hit with the wind in her face as the rock whooshed up the tunnel just as quickly as their passage down had been. Harriet couldn't help but grin, as flying was becoming one of her favorite things and this was quite similar, but she spared a glance to her companions. Hermione just looked terrified, her hands were stuck to the rock, probably feeling the same gravitational force keeping her stuck to it, but her knuckles and teeth were both clenched painfully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco, though, she had a similar manic grin to Harriet. She caught her eye and Draco's smile widened even further and laughed when Harriet gave a loud whoop. Draco gave her own loud crow, and Harriet laughed more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The good humor didn't last though. Hermione seemed much happier once they reached solid ground and stepped off their rocky high speed elevator. The entrance closed behind them with barely a sound as the sink snapped back into place, and as they dusted themselves off and righted various bits of clothing and hair (they were in a bathroom after all). Draco's stomach grumbled loudly yet again, with a slightly less vivid blush at the embarrassment than earlier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione rolled her eyes, "Come on, let's feed that beast. Thankfully much more ravenous than our new friend."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet chuckled, "No kidding."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco rubbed her face to cover up her blush, and laughed weakly, completely missing a perfectly good opportunity at some sort of witty retort or at least showing a bit more indignation for her embarrassment. There was a decidedly pensive look upon her face. She had always seemed rather clever, outside of being ridiculously ignorant of a handful of subjects, but Harriet usually didn't catch her so lost in thought. It was rather concerning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet sided up to her as they walked to the Great Hall, "Hey. Everything okay?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco seemed to catch herself and pulled her face into a proud little frown, "I am perfect. Thank you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet rolled her eyes, "Yes yes. We all know you're perfectly prissy."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco scoffed, "Better than being perfectly mental, as you are."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> felt better. Harriet smirked, "Whatever, Malfoy."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco went back to being lost in thought. Hermione also seemed to be as well, biting at her thumb and doing some sort of theorizing, though that wasn't particularly unusual for Hermione. She supposed Jiaolong had given them all plenty to think about. Harriet laughed a bit to herself. The two smartest first years were her friends and neither was in Ravenclaw. Still, Draco was worryingly gone, lost in her own head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet gently hip checked her, "No seriously. What's up?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco glared at her, whipping her head around fiercely, "Ugh! I'm fine! Why aren't you worried about yourself, you infuriating beast!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Cause I'm worried about you, princess," Harriet grinned cheekily. But Draco saw enough genuine expression in it, she stopped whatever retort she had and turned her face away from view. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm fine...just, have a lot on my mind," Draco said, significantly more subdued, "I'll talk to you about it once I process it myself."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet nodded at this very reasonable concession, "Whenever you like, snakey princess."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ugh. Don't call me that. If anyone is a snakey princess it would be you! You know what? Nevermind. I'm not telling you a word."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harriet just laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>You all just got hit with a bunch of my deeper head canons.</p><p>You know how Fawks cries over Harry's wound? She's also super upset that her buddy had to die.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Draco and the Latest Gossip</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>POV change! I love Draco to bits.</p><p>10 points to your house if you can identify the easter egg.</p><p>And poor Hagrid. His hut is going to burn down because no one will help him with the Norbert situation.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Draco twirled a lock of hair around her finger. Her mother would scold her for such behavior, as it made her look either unintelligent, or worse, coy. But Mother also blamed herself for such things as "the Blacks were never very good at controlling their emotions."</p><p>Either way, as Draco sat in the Slytherin common room, and gazed at one of the fireplaces, she continued to twirl her hair, lost in thought.</p><p>Harry Potter and all that surrounded her was a puzzle, and Draco felt it her duty to figure her out. She'd always had enough to think about before, between Dumbledore's meddling, the dark magic with the broom, and Harry's trauma living with those terrible muggles. Oh, yes. Draco had read up on childhood trauma and abuse and all such things when she first heard about Harry's home life.</p><p>And now Jiaolong had given her two or perhaps three big things to think about.</p><p>Thought One: Slytherin was founded on the premise of building a safe place for traumatized children.</p><p>She could see it honestly, as kids with trauma just need safety and security to begin to rebuild their lives. Being resourceful and cunning is just a different way of doing what you need to survive. In a time when muggles and muggleborns were truly dangerous, it would make total and complete sense to create such a place for traumatized purebloods.</p><p>Which led her to Thought Two, or perhaps One and a half as they were tied together: the no muggleborn rules are obsolete and pureblood supremacy is a lie.</p><p>Slytherin was a house for survivors of trauma, but Draco had been taught all her life that no friends worth making were in any house other than Slytherin. They were the elite and the cream of the crop and then there were the idiots of Gryffindor, the swots of Ravenclaw, and the mediocre of Hufflepuff.</p><p>But the bloody monster from the effing bloody Chamber of Secrets, chosen by Salazar Slytherin himself said point blank, Slytherin house wasn't created for such things. It was a house for traumatized kids and the rules were obsolete! And tied into that was the falsehood of pureblood supremacy as Jiaolong didn't exactly say in so many words. She seemed to treat all students equal. Not that Hermione hadn't been practically bashing their heads in with that. All the muggle astronomy books she had sent her for Yule had been positively riveting. Merlin, the concept of "Hubble Deep Field" alone! Let's create the most powerful telescope known to magical and muggle kind, shoot it up onto the sky where it will orbit the earth as if it was a small moon itself, and then let's point this amazing telescope at the darkest spot in the sky and see what we can find! </p><p>Muggles. Who knew?</p><p>Now, back to the topic of Slytherin and pureblood supremacy. There was probably nothing wrong with making powerful friends and allies per se. There is certainly merit to her parents wishing her to make friends with those destined for Slytherin, as it can't hurt to have talented allies and Slytherins seemed to sport more. But then her new friends in Gryffindor were talented in their own right, and she couldn't exactly call Greg or Vince the cream of the crop exactly. </p><p>Well either way, it couldn't hurt to make talented friends, and looking further afield had been a good decision. Hell, she had wanted to make friends with Harry Potter since the day she heard the story of the toddler who defeated the Dark Lord.</p><p>Not that Harry herself exactly lived up to the hype...well sort of. She was innately ridiculously powerful. It practically oozed out of her tiny frame. People can't help but be drawn to her. She didn't have any real control of her magical core, but if she ever learned, she'd be absolutely fearsome.</p><p>But Harry was so very very flawed. She knew to a certain degree, Hermione, Parvati, and Lavender were all Gryffindor brave, she also knew that only Harry was reckless enough to take on a mountain troll as a first year and likely dragged the others into saving their lives.</p><p>She felt she was just <em> entitled </em> that everyone should go along with her reckless plans. Harry was also obnoxiously oblivious! She had not a shred of situational awareness, and why oh why did she have to be so terribly adorable! Who gave her the right!</p><p>Oh yes, she was supposed to be coming up with negatives. But seriously! Who gave her the right to be adorable! Ugh! With her bright green eyes, that were constantly expressive and gave away every shred of Harry's feelings. Her golden skin and dark freckles and she was witty and sarcastic and funny and...Arg!!</p><p>Why did Draco have to be so smitten! She hated it!</p><p>She forced herself to turn her thoughts back to Jiaolong to Thought number Three, which was the most concerning but also the most tenuous and with the least amount of evidence, and yet Draco couldn't quite get out of her head.</p><p>The Dark Lord wasn't dead.</p><p>Defeated yes, but dead no.</p><p>The evidence was tenuous, as some of it was based on Harry's translations of Jiaolong, and perhaps it was all just a mistranslation. But Jiaolong referred to her time spent with the Dark Lord as a student in the past tense, but as she described him, it was entirely in the present. She feared him, and still feared him, as if he wasn't gone.</p><p>As much as she hated the old bat, Dumbledore questioned Draco's loyalty, in that she would have to choose between supporting the Dark Lord and Harry, sat with her also. Obviously Dumbledore believed he wasn't truly gone or why would that be a question in the first place? Though there was always talk outside the family of their loyalties to the Dark Lord, but Father always got that odd pinched look anytime someone very rudely mentioned such things. There was obviously a story her parents weren't telling her, but she understood that it likely was difficult to tell a child such things. Maybe now that she was off at Hogwarts, they would see how mature she was and let her know what really happened.</p><p>Nevertheless back on topic, Thought Three: the Dark Lord is not dead. There were always rumors that he would return, but Draco thought they were just the bitter musing of people who didn't fare so well after the end of the war and needed to desperately hold on to the hope of their aims coming to fruition. Or else perhaps of exasperated mothers in need of a lie to keep their kids in line. Eat your vegetables or the Dark Lord will get you. Don't fuss in public, or You-Know-Who will take you away. Don't be uncouth, or the Dark Lord will think you're a muggle.</p><p>But perhaps the boogie man wasn't so fictional after all. Jiaolong and Dumbledore certainly seemed to think so.</p><p>And the mystery of the cursed broom, Harry scar pain were incredibly worrying, and now Jiaolong's not quite direct assertions of the Dark Lord's continued existence threw things over the edge.</p><p>Draco wished that she could understand parselmouth and that there was some possible way to communicate with Jiaolong and ask difficult questions that wouldn't involve that horrible beast with eyes so arrestingly gorgeous they could commit murder...and she wasn't talking about the basilisk. Ugh. Why did she have to be so adorable!</p><p>Pansy's exasperated sigh brought Draco back to the present as the girl slid in next to her with a small bounce on the green velvet settee, "You're not spending time overthinking Harry not being in Slytherin again."</p><p>Draco huffed and gave her best dignified look, "Of course not."</p><p>"Uh huh. And you're definitely not kicking yourself for fancying her again."</p><p>Dammit. "O-of course not."</p><p>Pansy mimicked, "No. Of course not."</p><p>"What do you want," Draco snapped.</p><p>Pansy rolled her eyes, obviously not intimidated by Draco's rude behavior and then asked, "I'm bored. Also, can I borrow your notes for Transfiguration? I'm having trouble with making my spectacles into a looking glass."</p><p>Draco nodded, "They should be at my desk. Just be sure to enunciate the <em> spec </em> part of speculohylus."</p><p>Pansy grinned, "Thanks. And you really should tell her you know. She's pretty stupid. You won't get through to her otherwise."</p><p>Draco bristled, as she felt quite offended on Harry's behalf, "She's not dumb! When she chooses to be she's quite brilliant! Harry's just singularly focused!"</p><p>Pansy sighed, "No. You're right, she does have flashes of cleverness, but generally speaking Harry's-"</p><p>Draco interrupted, "Ridiculously oblivious."</p><p>Pansy giggled.</p><p>Draco continued, it was easy to insult Harry, but it felt wrong for anyone else to. That was her job. "And she's oblivious, not only about everything going on around her, but her own power! And she knows next to nothing about the magical community or herself or her heritage and I have to explain the most simplest concepts! She's like a toddler wielding a wand: a danger to herself and everyone around her!"</p><p>Pansy picked at her nails. Draco complaining about Harry seemed to be a common thing. "Mhmm."</p><p>"And she hasn't got an ounce of femininity and there are days she forgets to put in the hair potion I bought for her. You'd think with how much I got for her, she wouldn't need to skimp. You don't think she would, would she? Like she's worried she would run out? I mean the stock from her grandfather's old company should continue to pay dividends. Unless she doesn't know she has money."</p><p>Pansy gave a small yawn and then pulled a nail file from her bag.</p><p>"No. She definitely went to Gringotts with the giant. The day I met her and there was the break in...so she knows she has money. But maybe she's worried she doesn't have access to it? Dumbledore probably has some sort of guardianship, the meddler."</p><p>Pansy filed her nails and hummed distractedly.</p><p>"Maybe I should give her some more hair potion so she wouldn't be worried about going without. She has probably worried about going without for so long. Merlin knows it took forever for the beast to actually gain some weight. Who knew proper nutrition would be good for a person."</p><p>Pansy continued to swipe at her nails, "She does look much better doesn't she."</p><p>Draco threw her hands up in exasperation, "She looked like a crazed homeless person the first time I met her! Do you even remember what she wore on the train?! I know I'm not usually up on muggle fashion trends, but I'm pretty sure clothing from 15 years ago and four sizes too big isn't the trend."</p><p>Pansy started to work on her other hand, "We have already talked about this, darling. When it's your week this summer, just take her shopping."</p><p>"But I can't use the excuse it's for her birthday! You're getting her for her birthday."</p><p>Pansy examined her nails, "Not my fault we all agreed I throw the best parties, darling."</p><p>Draco sighed reluctantly, "You do."</p><p>Pansy grinned and kissed Draco's cheek, "Ta ever so."</p><p>Draco humphed, "Still. Harry is going to drive me to tears."</p><p>Pansy patted her cheek fondly, "Don't worry, darling. I'm sure you'll continue to overthink things, and then react in the most awkward way possible."</p><p>"Hey!"</p><p>"I'm ever so glad you managed to make friends with her. I can't even imagine the headaches I'd get if those few weeks before Samhain continued and you kept pretending tormenting her was the best way to get her attention and make an impression. Well...half pretending. You couldn't ever really get your jealousy under control."</p><p>Draco bristled, "I was correct in doing that! She's so oblivious that she barely knows her own housemates! She can't even name a single Gryffindor that isn't in her year, a member of the Quidditch team, or a Weasley! I was being memorable!"</p><p>Pansy patted her cheek again fondly, "Yes, yes. That you were. You know I'll always support you in whatever endeavor you wish, but you <em> were </em> pretty stupid. And jealous."</p><p>Draco was interrupted from further indignation by the common room door opening and Lavender spotting them and making a beeline for their settee.</p><p>"Pans. I have news!"</p><p>Pansy brightened at the arrival of her best gossip buddy, "Oh, Lav! What?"</p><p>"So you know how the seventh year Hufflepuff Tyler Hayworth has been messing with the Lehnsherr twins?"</p><p>"The fourth years, right? Billy in Slytherin and Tommy in Gryffindor. Billy is the one dating that one really fit Hufflepuff."</p><p>Lavender fanned herself in mock heat, "Teddy Waltman is so hot. Why do all the hot ones have to be gay?"</p><p>Pansy sighed dramatically, "I know. It's the worst," and then sat up attentively, "So? What's the news?"</p><p>"So, you know how Hayworth has been messing with the twins because their mom's business banned his family because they were acting super shady?"</p><p>Pansy exclaimed, "Seriously! Who would be stupid enough the mess with the Lehnsherrs?!"</p><p>Lavender nodded seriously, "So anyways. Darcy Wu punched him in the face. Like a muggle!"</p><p>"No! The Ravenclaw? I wouldn't think she would have it in her."</p><p>"Yes! And then when he tried to fight back, Monica Danvers, you know the Gryffindor? She hexed him halfway to Sunday."</p><p>"I would have paid good money to see that."</p><p>"No joke. Hayworth is such a sleeze. So anyway, somehow Jimmy Lewis got involved in the fight as well cause those three always manage to go together. It's rather cute actually. Monica, Darcy, and Jimmy. Anyway, and all four of them got detention."</p><p>"Not shocking."</p><p>"No, but here's the thing," Lavender leaned closer, "They served their detention last night with Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest. Don't tell Milly, but something is killing unicorns."</p><p>Draco had been half listening to most of the exchange before this point, but that made her sit up and pay closer attention, "Killing unicorns?"</p><p>Lavender nodded seriously, "They had to try and find the poor things so Hagrid could put them out of their misery. They couldn't find what was doing it, but Jimmy said there were signs that whatever it was that was killing them, was drinking their blood. Bite marks and the way the blood was smeared."</p><p>Something inside Draco screamed that this was connected to everything she was thinking about. Every alarm inside her told her to run and run as far away as possible.</p><p>Pansy shivered, "There's no way. Who in their right mind would kill a unicorn and drink its blood?!"</p><p>Lavender nodded, "Mental, I know. But Jimmy Lewis is reliable. He wouldn't be taking the piss with this."</p><p>Pansy hummed and turned to Draco, "Our snakey friend didn't hint at anything about this? You don't think it's her do you?"</p><p>Draco shook her head, "No. She doesn't seem the type, plus she's been here for eons. From what it sounds like, the forest isn't her domain. It seemed like the lake was her primary territory."</p><p>Lavender nodded, "Well either way, don't tell Milly. It'd break her heart. She loves unicorns."</p><p>Pansy nodded, "So sad. Seriously? What sort of evil would kill a unicorn?"</p><p>Draco thought pointedly, what evil indeed?</p><p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay, so scientists didn't start searching in the Hubble Deep Field until 1995, and this is currently in 1992, but I still think it's such a rad concept!! C'mon! It's just so cool! They have the most powerful telescope known to history, so let's point it at absolutely nothing and see if we find shit! So cool!</p><p>(Can you tell I'm a Ravenclaw?)</p>
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<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Draco's Study Session</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I know we've had a lot of conversations and very little action, but here's another chapter of just that!</p><p>Thanks again to my friend Anra7777 who reads all my stuff!</p><p>And for all the comments and kudos and bookmarks, yinz are the best!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Draco stomped off to the library for her study session with Hermione with a definite goal in mind. As the second most clever witch in the school, the muggleborn had to have some thoughts about all they'd learned from Jiaolong, and she also wanted to get her opinion on the merit of the whole Dark Lord thing. Logically, Draco felt she might be grasping at singing stalks, but everything inside told her she wasn't wrong in this instance and wanted confirmation on her theories.</p><p>She spotted Hermione setting up at their usual table. Draco figured they'd probably be working on Potions today as Uncle Sev had given them quite a bit of research required for the next class, and Hermione already had their potions work out in front of her.</p><p>Hermione grinned brightly when she spotted Draco, "I couldn't wait to talk to someone sensible. I'm getting rather sick of dealing with the other girls at the moment. With all their whinging, you'd think they didn't realize they're here to attend <em> school </em> and actually <em> learn something. </em> Plus I had some questions about the use of fresh rather than dried stinging kelp."</p><p>Draco snorted, knowing exactly what Hermione meant, but answered her question first, as it would be impolite to not get through pleasantries before tackling her goal for the study session, "Fresh has the natural oils that get removed during the drying process, though dried is more potent in botanicals." Hermione nodded and started scratching at her parchment in earnest.</p><p>As Draco started pulling out her own potions work, she thought that she definitely understood Hermione's sentiment. Pansy and Milly could both be serious students, because most Slytherin families demanded it, but neither could really be considered avid scholars precisely. Draco was grateful to have made a friend in the muggleborn, as she seemed to be the only one one in their year to match her own love of learning.</p><p>Though now that Draco thought further, it might not be such a bad thing Harry in particular wasn't so academically focused. With how powerful her core was, if she had any sort of scholarly ambition, she'd easily take over the world. Draco decided to say so aloud. </p><p>Hermione hummed and tapped her quill to her chin, "You know, you're not wrong. Though even still, Harriet's a little too flighty for a longstanding leadership position. But I do believe in her. She has a good heart and good intentions."</p><p>Draco snorted again and started taking out her own books and parchments, "Well the path to Hades is built with good intentions."</p><p>Hermione laughed a bit.</p><p>Draco said, "So, Hermione. I want to get your opinion on something not related to school. Stuff related to Jiaolong."</p><p>Hermione set her quill down and gave Draco her full attention, "Go ahead. I kind of wanted to pick your brain on Jiaolong as well."</p><p>"'Pick your brain?' Is that a mugglism?"</p><p>Hermione said with a small smile, "Oh? Oh yes. It means to get someone's opinion on a particular topic."</p><p>"Is it pick as in 'choose,' or pick as in to 'play' like a harp or lyre?"</p><p>Hermione hummed, "Pick as in 'pickaxe' I would think. Dig around in, I supposed."</p><p>Draco sneered, "That's disgusting!"</p><p>Hermione laughed, "It is, isn't it."</p><p>Draco sneered and then shook her head. Muggles and their odd expressions. Either way, Draco got back on topic and proceeded to explain to her the Three Thoughts in detail. Thought One: Slytherin was created as a safe haven for traumatized children. Thought Two (One and a half): the muggleborn rules are obsolete and pureblood supremacy is a lie. And Thought Three: the Dark Lord is not dead. When Draco explained Though Two (One and a half) Hermione nearly burst into tears and practically jumped over the table to give her a firm and long hug, which Draco graciously tolerated the interruption. She firmly told herself that she didn't blush or enjoy the acknowledgement. Nope. Not at all.</p><p>Anyway.</p><p>After she had explained everything, Hermione bit her thumb in thought. It took her a while before answering, "You know, I was thinking something similar, but I didn't make the Jiaolong connection. I didn't catch that in our conversation. That was a good call."</p><p>Draco sniffed with a little pride.</p><p>Hermione continued seriously, "In terms of You-Know-Who's existence, I have been thinking more about the meeting with Dumbledore."</p><p>"In what way?"</p><p>"Well, if we're talking about the issues with You-Know-Who specifically, from what I could tell, Dumbledore sees Harriet as a tool. Even Harriet admitted that she felt that way herself. But that begs the question, why?"</p><p>Draco rolled her eyes, flipping her hand dismissively, "He's a controlling old bat, of course. Who wouldn't want the famous Harry Potter in the palm of their hand?"</p><p>Hermione shook her head, not that she didn't still have a thing for obeying authority, but it was surprising she didn't join in bashing Dumbledore as they had done previously on occasion. Hermione said instead, "I don't think it's that simple. He is manipulative, yes. He purposefully displayed his abundant power and used words meant to demean and diminish, but I don't think he wished to control Harriet as some sick twist of character. I don't believe he's doing it to be controlling for controlling sake. He doesn't seem to care much for fame. Plus, why target Harriet in the first place? Why her and not any other student?"</p><p>Draco opened her mouth to speak more derision against that old bat, but then closed it. Hermione was right in that it was odd. Even if, for argument sake, he was a little twisted, why did he only target Harry? It did seem a bit much for fame. He was famous all on his own. She felt a bit foolish that she hadn't thought of that herself. She said tentatively, "Well...Harry is obviously special."</p><p>Hermione nodded, "But this has been going on since the day her parents were murdered. Who would know she'd grow into the sort of person she is? Don't magical cores take time to develop? Certainly not in a toddler. He'd have no way of knowing."</p><p>"If the manipulation started the day they died, then it's tied to the Dark Lord."</p><p>"Exactly. Dumbledore believes Harriet has some power against You-Know-Who, which is fairly believable considering his disappearance after he attacked her. Dumbledore has long since made it his mission to take him down. If Harriet does have whatever this unknown power is, it would make sense he would wish to use her. Dumbledore is very much working off of the premise of You-Know-Who's continued existence. He wouldn't need her as a tool in the first place if he wasn't. As long as you believe that Dumbledore's not delusional, You-Know-Who is likely still in existence in some form or fashion."</p><p>Draco frowned and curled her finger in her hair, "You're right. I didn't think of it that way. I can't help but agree…but what would that mean for Harry? That the Dark Lord isn't dead? He'll obviously target her."</p><p>Hermione waved her own hand around, "Hasn't he already? And of course we will do what we can to protect her."</p><p>Draco rolled her eyes and continued curling her hair, "You make it sound so easy. This is the Dark Lord, we're talking about."</p><p>"Obviously. But he is weak enough that he must remain in hiding. He hasn't shown any capabilities for any sort of direct attack."</p><p>Draco hummed and then remembered that she was already contemplating what sort of evil would be weak but also desperate enough to even think of using such a horrible method of preservation, "That would explain the unicorns!"</p><p>"What unicorns?"</p><p>Draco proceeded to explain the rumors she heard earlier.</p><p>Hermione had started to bite at her thumb again, "I would usually write off such a ridiculous rumor, but Jimmy Lewis <em> is </em> reliable, and it fits if You-Know-Who is around and weakened. It would also explain the odd round-about attacks Harriet has encountered. You-Know-Who's presence is obviously tied to her scar pain. She said it's never bothered her before coming to Hogwarts, though theoretically it could just be that she is reacting to all the ambient magic. But You-Know-Who is most likely hiding somewhere around Hogwarts."</p><p>"Hiding at Hogwarts? How could the Dark Lord be here?"</p><p>"Well...he's obviously weakened, but it's the simplest explanation for all of the mysteries currently surrounding everything. He's weak enough he can't attack directly so he curses brooms and sends trolls wandering into the school."</p><p>Then, it clicked. Maybe it was her mentioning the trolls that did it and the immediate reaction to the fear it brought, but Draco's finger halted in mid-air, half curled around a lock of hair. It was one thing that Draco had mused that the Dark Lord was still alive in some form or fashion, all pleasantly theoretical, a fascinating puzzle. But the very real threat she encountered with the troll, pulled this all out of the theoretical and into the very real, very present danger. This wasn't a mysterious broom malfunction and some migraines, this was the Dark Lord actually at Hogwarts! With Hermione also stating it as a real possibility and the source of the mysteries surrounding Harry, fear flooded her veins. "Y-you're serious? You think the Dark Lord is the source of everything?"</p><p>Hermione looked at her quizzically, "Isn't that exactly what we're talking about?"</p><p>Draco hissed, "Yes! But I can't believe it's <em> actually </em>the Dark Lord! Harry's eleven! She can't face him! We can't face him! We're children!"</p><p>Hermione retorted calmly, nearly rolling her eyes, "He tried to kill her when she was one and a half. I don't think he much cares that she's a child."</p><p>"But what can we do? What difference can we make? Can we truly protect her?? He's the Dark Lord!"</p><p>Hermione frowned, "We do what we can. We plan. We figure things out. Make decisions off of the information we have. Then act on it. Same as every other part of life."</p><p>"Aren't you scared?!"</p><p>Hermione hissed harshly, "Of course I'm scared! But I'm not going to let that stop me from doing what needs to be done!"</p><p>Draco looked taken aback. Of course Hermione didn't care that she could be tortured and killed by the actual, not fictional boogieman. She paused for a moment and then put her face in her hands and mumbled into them, "Bloody Gryffindors."</p><p>Hermione huffed with a great deal of exasperation, "Pull yourself together. Since you like Harriet so much, you need to do what you can to protect her. And since you're ever so clever, that means you've got to pull your head out of the dark crevasse you put it in and think!"</p><p>Draco hissed, "Slytherins aren't known for their bravery! Not everyone can just shut off their fear like that!"</p><p>Hermione huffed again, but with a bit less bite, almost sympathetic, "First. Harriet was nearly a Slytherin."</p><p>"She's an exception. You know that," Draco snapped.</p><p>Hermione continued calmly, "And bravery isn't the absence of fear, it's the willingness to do what needs to be done, despite your fear."</p><p>Draco said flippantly, "Yes yes. We know you're a Gryffindor."</p><p>Hermione stood up and hissed, "You're not getting it. Gryffindors don't hold the market on bravery. Anyone can learn to be brave! And you are going to have to face that if you want to be a part of Harriet's life! You're going to have to face your fear and move past it, or you might as well give up on her now. I know you don't want to be just an acquaintance with her, and if you want anything deeper than that, that means that you will inevitably end up facing her enemies too!"</p><p>"I can't!"</p><p>"You can!"</p><p>They were interrupted by Madam Pierce looming over the two of them and giving a cough with the nastiest look Draco could ever expect someone to give. They both fell silent and then mumbled a quiet, "Sorry, Madam Pierce…"</p><p>She gave them a sharp glare and then a curt nod before walking away at a near silent clip. They both sat back down meekly resuming much quieter than before.</p><p>Hermione said, "You may not believe me, but I get it. I wasn't always brave. But there came a point in my life where I had to decide to face my fears and live a genuine life, the life I want and I know is best for me and without regrets, or whether I spend the rest of my life in fear, safer but always desiring a different way. </p><p>"I could have continued feeling terrible in my own body, and I would have been safe from violence or criticism or rejection from everyone I love. In the muggle world, people like me have been kicked out of their homes, or locked in the muggle equivalent of St. Mungo's Permanent Spell Damage wards, and many are beaten and murdered. For people like me, living genuinely is dangerous."</p><p>Draco's eyes got wide. People like Hermione? Witches? She thought muggles weren't violent against magical types as Hermione had been coming to their defense all this time. She hissed in a fierce whisper, "I thought you said they stopped witch hunting?! I thought you said muggles were safe? That Harry's relatives weren't the norm in their prejudice against magic!"</p><p>Hermione looked momentarily confused until she came to some sort of realization, "Oh, I'm not talking about magic. I suppose I didn't tell you or Pansy or Milly yet. I'm transgender. That means I'm a girl who was born with a penis. This has nothing to do with magic."</p><p>Wait, Hermione was a girl born with a penis? Like Great-great Aunt Octavius? It was rare but not unheard of. "So it doesn't have anything to do with magic?"</p><p>Hermione shook her head, "No. Nothing. There's just a great deal of prejudice when it comes to gender and sexuality. Anything out of the arbitrary rules of normality is punished. Nothing to do with magic."</p><p>That was a bit of relief for Draco. But still, how utterly stupid. As long as people could sire proper offspring, what would it matter what gender they were. She flipped her hand dismissively and said exactly that.</p><p>Hermione rolled her eyes, "Yes yes. Because the magical world doesn't have its own set of prejudices."</p><p>Draco opened her mouth to say something dismissive, and then closed it, finally speaking, "You're talking about the muggleborn issues again, aren't you?"</p><p>Hermione just snorted, "People are the same everywhere. Minorities are demonized because they are unknown and other. Don't think I haven't noticed I'm only one of three muggleborn in our year, and that is even a higher percentage for the class than normal because theoretically, while the magical world wasn't having babies during the war, the muggle world was."</p><p>Draco put her chin in her hand, "You're not wrong. But still. How utterly stupid. To be scared about being such a person. I know that...what did you call it?"</p><p>"Transgender?"</p><p>"Yes. Transgender. It's nice to see muggles use a little Latin at least. Anyways. Transgender. It's rare, sure, but not unheard of. My great-great aunt Octavius Malfoy Lovegood was one. She was a properly respectable charms inventor and had three children who went on to notable careers. All perfectly respectable."</p><p>Hermione sighed with a sort of begrudging acceptance, "Yes. In terms of transgender being a non-issue in the magical world is wonderful. But still, people are people for better or worse, and one prejudice is being replaced by another. However we're getting off topic."</p><p>Hermione took a deep breath and continued, "I understand being scared. I had to decide what sort of life I wished to lead. What is important to me? In your case, how important is Harriet's continued existence? I'm not saying you need to take a curse for her, but if she's that important to you, she has enemies and they aren't going to ignore you if you start dating."</p><p>"Dating?!" Draco squawked and blushed.</p><p>Hermione looked a touch embarrassed, "Oh, I'm sorry! I obviously read that wrong. I thought you were interested in her romantically."</p><p>Draco shook her head, "No! I mean, I am. Interested. Just a little. Only a little." Draco fought her damnable blush, though at least she got her voice under control, "But I can't imagine that happening! Harry hasn't shown even the slightest interest. She's obviously straight. Otherwise I would be interested. Only a little though."</p><p>Hermione hummed, not commenting or teasing in the slightest unlike Pansy who wouldn't have let such a moment go without teasing Draco. She was reminded again that Hermione was a true gem.</p><p>"I actually don't think your chances are all that terrible. She's so stuck in heteronormality that she doesn't even think it's a possibility, but that doesn't mean she's not potentially bent. Plus she has a bit of a weird fixation with you, even further a bit odd as she doesn't really pay much attention to anyone outside of a small handful of people. Just give her time. She's young, coming from an abusive and repressive home. She's going to need time to heal and figure herself out. But personally I think your chances are good that it eventually becomes mutual between the two of you."</p><p>Draco looked hopeful, "Really?" Then she caught herself and put on a more haughty expression, "Well. I am a catch. Who wouldn't want me?"</p><p>Hermione just rolled her eyes, "Just don't push it. Focus on friendship for now," she emphasized by poking a finger to Draco's chest, "and figure yourself out. If you want to be in her life in any meaningful capacity, you're going to face danger. Either get over it, or move on."</p><p>Draco sighed reluctantly. </p><p>Hermione just smiled and then pulled back out the potions text, "Now. With that in mind, let's get back to our real jobs, rather than the perpetual side project of saving Harriet Potter from herself."</p><p>Draco snorted and opened her text as well, all her questions answered and then some. She was rather grateful for the feeling of security her potions work brought, as school had always been straightforward and easy. At least she knew one part of her life would be a guaranteed success, because managing to save Harry from herself or others was definitely not a sure thing, now or in the future.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Draco and the Train Ride Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I want to try and have as much of Draco's POV for this fic as possible. Not only is she more fun to write, but she's already undergone more changes in her worldview and it's only going to get more and more difficult to hold previously held worldviews.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next time all the girls had a decent stretch of time to meet together was the train ride home for spring break. Though Draco had missed the official day of Eostre on the equinox, it was tradition in most pagan households in Britain to wait until the day after children come back from Hogwarts, starting from 1600s, making spring hols about Easter rather than Eostre, which annoyingly changed days year to year. It wouldn't do to piss off all those Protestants. They seemed to enjoy killing people for the pettiest of reasons. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Either way, it would be Draco and the entire Malfoy household's first year having an off day Eostre. She felt a little more sophisticated and mature for it. She was growing up and wasn't a tiny child anymore and they were planning the ceremonies based on her time off of school, and this year was extra special since Harry was coming to her home this time. Draco hoped Harry would enjoy it, as it was her first experience with what should be her heritage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not that she had actually missed that horrible green eyed beast in the slightest during Yule. Draco hadn't thought about what desserts she would have enjoyed the best, and how spectacular their buche de noel was with the hazelnut creme and how impressed the girl would be. And she hadn't thought about how rich the turkey had been and that despite Draco's efforts, Harry was still worryingly small and that a thick slice of turkey with a few spoons of silky gravy and a bit of the wonderfully crackly skin could have added a few stones to her weight. And that one snowy morning that would have been perfect for a crisp flight or a Seeker's game or two, she definitely hadn't thought about challenging that horrible girl with her horrible hair and horrible grin and horrible freckles. She hadn't thought about how much fun it would have been to have beaten her on laps around the manor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wasn't bored without her. It was a peaceful Yule. She enjoyed her time with her mother and all the festivities. The way it should be. Because if Harry </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> been there, obviously there would have been some disaster, because Harry was practically a walking disaster. She couldn't be trusted on her own. Someone needed to take care of her and keep her out of trouble and obviously Draco was up for the job. So she hadn't missed her during Yule at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least Parvati had snuck her a copy of the picture of Harry in that beautiful sari that matched her eyes perfectly and the longer she stared at it it gave an ache to her chest seeing just how well green suited the girl and how different things would have been if she had been placed in Slytherin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But no. She hadn't missed Harry at all over Yule. But that wasn't going to stop her from showing her proper Eostre rituals. It was her heritage!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Plus Draco really did love her home. The manor was particularly lovely for Eostre and she was excited to share it with Harry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The search on the grounds for a fresh warren to present gifts for Eostre's creatures. Then finding sweets hidden among crocuses and snowdrops, though those were likely already past their prime. They would probably be able to find daffodils and wood anemone and the treasures hidden among them. It was still far too early for bluebells. Draco so very much wanted to show Harry the manor grounds she loved so much. It was too bad they would be back in school during bluebell season. The fairies were lovely congregating, flitting and gossiping among the purple carpet of bluebells in the evenings she would walk with Mother. But daffodils were Mother's favorite for obvious reasons and she had planted many of them over the years. Draco hoped Harry would love the bright expanse of yellow and white and green that brought her so much happiness herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco was particularly pleased to keep an eye on Harry considering current circumstances. She had spent many an hour fretting about the issues surrounding the Dark Lord, though Draco hadn't exactly decided what to do about all that Hermione had presented. She had never exactly considered herself a brave person, as Kippley or Dobby had to remove various spiders or bees or mice that might wander indoors from outside, often with her screaming and standing on various pieces of furniture. Draco might love the grounds of the manor but that did not mean she wanted the grounds indoors!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco had many, </span>
  <em>
    <span>many</span>
  </em>
  <span> admirable qualities; she was intelligent, beautiful and clever, refined and rare. But bravery had never been something she felt she possessed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was difficult to imagine what she would do if she faced the Dark Lord, however weak he might be. Draco was a blithering mess around the troll and still got chills anytime she smelled something particularly foul. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even Jiaolong feared the Dark Lord! A basilisk for Circe sake!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But as Draco looked at Harry, deep in conversation and laughing at something Milly's snake had said, speaking in parseltongue as if it wasn't incredible and awe inspiring, a part of Draco felt she might be willing to learn to be brave. Only a little. The beast needed her desperately, in more ways than one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco tuned back into the conversation around her as she heard Hermione say her name, "Draco and I have been theorizing about that actually."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender waved her licorice wand lazily, "I still say it's Quirrell. He's a creep. And being associated with You-Know-Who would certainly qualify him."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pansy rolled her eyes, "But it's </span>
  <em>
    <span>Quirrell. </span>
  </em>
  <span>There's no way someone who can't say the word 'vampire' without hiding under his desk could be associated with him. It's the Dark Lord!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry said in a pondering kind of voice, "I do get headaches only in Defense."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lavender bit her licorice wand and then pointed it at Harry, "See!! If you really think You-Know-Who is the culprit behind all the mysterious havoc happening at Hogwarts, that creep Quirrell has to be involved!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati said, "But why show up here? Why now? I know You-Know-Who would want to target Harry, but why not before now? And as much as Dumbledore hasn't treated Harry properly," she nodded to said girl who had handed Milly's pet back, "I can't imagine You-Know-Who would willingly spend time nearby him unless it was for a good reason."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This brought everyone into thoughtful silence. The Dark Lord could have targeted Harry before she came to Hogwarts, and the attempts on her life here had been half-assed at best: that troll was terrifying, however it theoretically shouldn't have encountered Harry at all, if she wasn't insufferably reckless. Why would the Dark Lord put himself under the danger of Dumbledore's scrutiny? Why come to Hogwarts at all if he was only going to attempt the laziest of assassinations? There must be another goal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione was twirling a finger through a curl, Draco was pleased that she had a similar thinking tic, though she more often saw Hermione biting her thumb, but it seemed she occasionally had at least the good taste to have similar bad habits. Hermione said with a hum, twirling away, "What about the third floor corridor? What if it contains something he needs? What if You-Know-Who was the one to break into Gringotts? He was supposedly a genius when it came to dark magic and could perform spells others thought were only theoretical. If anyone could successfully break into Gringotts, I could imagine it being him."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco startled, as she had nearly forgotten all the mess involving the mysterious object being stored in Hogwarts. But then, Dumbledore had brought it there in the first place. Was he protecting it for some unknown benefactor, or perhaps it was intentional bait to draw the Dark Lord out. Draco decided to say so aloud.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione was back to biting her thumb, "Your theory certainly has merit, and it would make sense. If we follow the concept further, this object likely would be able to give You-Know-Who power of some sort as he is currently weak. It would be a smart move on the part of Dumbledore."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco rolled her eyes, "Except that his primary goal should be the students wellbeing. Baiting the Dark Lord inside a school of all places! My father was right. Dumbledore is the worst thing to happen to Hogwarts."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry snorted. It made Draco feel a little warm making the girl laugh a little while talking about that awful meddler, rather than the sharper reaction she had a few weeks previously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione said, "Still. Dumbledore might be manipulative and have skewed priorities, but if his goal is taking out You-Know-Who, it's a smart move to bait him out."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati hummed, "I wonder what the thing is. It's something that would give You-Know-Who power. Lav, Pans, you two hear anything?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pansy waved a hand dismissively, "The rumors on that even I don't believe. And none of it fits Harry's description of something relatively small."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Milly spoke up in her quiet voice, "I might know something."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rest of the train cabin paused and turned to her in mild surprise. Milly never was exactly tied to anything that involved talking, much less the gossip mill. Draco herself was the one to teach her to be silently intimidating after the Higgs incident, and it had suited her well both in terms of her personality, desires for social interaction, and overall presence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parvati smiled patiently and put her hand on top of Milly's. Draco thought about how she had been a good addition to the group. The Patils didn't produce the most powerful witches and wizards, but they did produce a number of skilled healers. It seemed Parvati had gotten quite a few nurturing traits. "Go on, Milly. What did you hear?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Milly smiled at Parvati, obviously happier and comfortable around her, "I was outside in the field next to the Quidditch pitch with Matilda. It's a good place for her to get exercise and hunt. I know it's not good for her to only eat the eggs I give her. And when I was out there, I got into a conversation with the giant groundskeeper." She turned to Harry and bit her lip, "I was always a bit nervous around him, but since Harry likes him, I decided to give him a chance. And he did seem nice. He very much liked Matilda."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry turned and had a quick conversation with the snake, most likely confirming Milly's story.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, we talked about Matilda for a bit, and I asked about any of his pets. He told me about Fang, his boar hound, and Fluffy the cerberus who is guarding the third floor corridor. Mostly he talked about the cerberus specialties and Fluffy's personality. He said how even though cerberus are natural guard dogs, he feels bad that Fluffy doesn't get a chance to get out, but that guarding the Philosopher's Stone is too important."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a collective gasp, except for Harry, who couldn't identify a mountain troll from her own arse. Well, maybe not the only one, Lavender and Pansy also looked rather expectantly for explanation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Merlin, Milly! That's it! It fits!" Draco exclaimed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What's it?" Harry asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thank Circe for the muggleborn, who had the decency to research real magical culture as one should, Hermione had the decency to explain, "The Philosopher's Stone is an object that can turn any metal into gold, and also product the Elixir of Life, essentially granting the drinker immortality. I read about it around Christmas."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco said excitedly, "If I was a severely weakened Dark Lord, the Elixir of Life would be very appealing!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pansy said shocked and slightly disgusted, "Are you telling me, a stone that can grant immortality is sitting on the third floor corridor, baiting the Dark Lord to rise back to power?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry shrugged, "Seems like it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was something that didn't quite add up for Draco, "How did Dumbledore get Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel's permission in the first place?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione hummed, "I don't know."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry asked, scratching Matilda on the chin in Milly's lap, "Who's Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco sighed and rolled her eyes. Harry was hopeless. "The creators and owners of the Philosopher's Stone. I mean, if I was a world famous alchemist and magibiologist with the key to immortality, I doubt I would just hand it over for something like this. Do you think Dumbledore stole it, or has something on the Flamels?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione was back to biting her thumb, "I don't know, but it's likely. Manipulation does seem his MO."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry shrugged, "Why don't we just write to them or something?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco sputtered, "The Flamels are famous and notoriously choosy about the company they keep!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry shrugged, "I'm famous too. And it would be nice to have it do some good for once."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco opened her mouth to speak about how arrogant one would have to be to even think they could demand the attention of people such as the Flamels. How they haven't had an apprentice for centuries and barely take an audience with anyone except for rare occasions, but then if there was a person out there special enough to be worth their attention it would be Harry effing Potter. She admitted in a small voice, "You know. You probably could."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry grinned and asked Hermione for some parchment and a quill and got to work, "I sent Hedwig to the manor, so I'll just have her deliver it when we get there."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco looked over her shoulder and grimaced, "Ugh! Don't you know how to write a proper letter? That's not even a proper introduction, and your punctuation usage is atrocious."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Harry just rolled her eyes, "Fine, Miss Priss. Why don't you help if you're so concerned?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco huffed, "Obviously. I don't know how you survived this long without me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione laughed at the two of them and decided to toss in her two knuts to the project as well. Draco, Harry, and Hermione worked on the letter for the remainder of the ride to King's Cross, perfected and ready to send as soon as they got to Draco's beloved home.<br/>
</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next up: Fun times at Malfoy Manor!</p><p>Also for those who don't know flowers: the Narcissus family of flowers contain daffodils and their relatives. Our dearly departed author likes flower names for some reason.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Draco and the Eostre Hols</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warnings for Lucius's verbal abuse.</p><p>He's a dick. He makes Draco cry. What else is new?</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Draco thought a week with Harry outside of Hogwarts would be much the same as in, some ridiculous event after another equally ludicrous event. However the week had been wonderfully enjoyable. Harry had been properly curious about the ceremonies and festivities of Eostre, and though Father didn't allow Harry to participate in some of the prayers and incantations, she still seemed fascinated.</p>
<p>Father had been home for the day they celebrated Eostre, which was wonderful. She rarely saw her father, and she hoped that she had made a good impression, showing what a properly good host she was growing into.</p>
<p>At least Mother had seemed pleased throughout the week. While Father spent most of his time outside flitting to his important business, Mother was home with her and Harry. They had frequent teas between the times Draco showed Harry various parts of the grounds and manor and introduced Harry to some Wizarding fiction. She needed to get that girl some interest in reading if she was going to make up for the shortfall in those thrice-damned muggles' education and Harry's upbringing.</p>
<p>Oddly Harry had taken most well to the various tales of <em> The Cardinal Conjurerer, </em> despite that the stories put muggle-kind in a very poor light, now that Draco could see from that sort of view. They took place in a universe where the Statute of Secrecy wasn't in place and muggles often attacked magical kind, but Harry said it had a very compelling storyline and enjoyed the characters. Draco figured that whatever it got for her to read was fine by her, and pulled every book she had in her collection for the girl.</p>
<p>Between reading, teas with Mother, and roaming the Manor and grounds on both foot and on brooms, they kept themselves busy.</p>
<p>During their teas, Draco so wished to speak to Mother all about Jiaolong and therefore all her conclusions about Slytherin house's origins and pureblood superiority. She also couldn't speak about her worries and fear of the Dark Lord at Hogwarts. As much as she felt it would be best to get some form of adult attention, she also knew how difficult it was to gain Harry's trust in the first place. Draco didn't want to risk that trust in even the slightest. </p>
<p>They had talked about it one of the evenings, as Draco applied Harry's grandfather's hair potion to the beastly birdnest while they lounged on Draco's bed.</p>
<p>"Are there <em> any  </em>adults you like?"</p>
<p>Harry hummed, half in pleasure as Draco noted proudly that she enjoyed her ministrations, "Kind of?"</p>
<p>"The half-breed giant, right?"</p>
<p>Harry snorted, "You manage to find the most pretentious way to describe people. And yes. Well sort of." She sighed, less in pleasure and more in mild aggravation, "Hagrid's practically in love with Dumbledore for some reason. He adores him. Maybe he saved him at some point or something. But Hagrid's good. He just seems like a truly good person. He was...my first real friend."</p>
<p>Draco wished she was of age and knew a bit of dark untraceable magic to take care of those horrible muggles. But she wouldn't be able to keep an eye on the beast from Azkaban if she got caught using illegal spells on muggles. Plus it wouldn't put her proudly gained and newly found view on muggleborns in the best of light.</p>
<p>Harry laughed a bit, in better humor, "Actually the reason I hated you so much was you did your whole," she waved her hand vaguely, "pretentious thing and insulted him at Madam Malkin's. You sounded just like my Aunt Petunia."</p>
<p>Draco gasped. Harry had thrown around plenty of insults before, but this was the worst, "No! I did not!"</p>
<p>Harry snorted, thankfully not too seriously, soothing Draco somewhat for being compared to such horrible people, "You so did. You were all-" Harry put her hand to her chest in what was a lowsy facsimile of Draco's aristocratic manner, "oh! You aren't one of those muggles are you? Who is that man?? He's like...hairy or something. I'm worried lower lifeforms might touch me! With his...hair!"</p>
<p>"I don't sound like that!"</p>
<p>Harry snorted, "Well, just a little less recently. Only a little. You still manage to find the most pretentious way of describing pretty much anything."</p>
<p>"I do not!"</p>
<p>"What was that dish the other day? The potatoes and peas in a beshy something?"</p>
<p>"Fresh spring peas and new potatoes in a béchamel sauce?"</p>
<p>Harry snorted, "Why can't you just call it a cream sauce or something?"</p>
<p>"Béchamel is one of the foundations of French cuisine! And it didn't stop you from going for thirds!" In actuality, that pleased Draco very much.</p>
<p>Harry snorted to herself, "So pretentious."</p>
<p>Draco humphed, obviously she wasn't going to make any headway with such an uncultured savage. She returned to her original topic, "Other than...the Hogwarts groundskeeper, do you trust any other adults?"</p>
<p>Harry shrugged, "Does Jiaolong count as one?"</p>
<p>Draco frowned and murmured, "I suppose she counts."</p>
<p>Harry shrugged again, sounding a touch pitiful, "I dunno. Spout's okay too, I guess. I mean, everyone else is theoretically under Dumbledore's control. And as good nature as Hagrid is, he and the whole lot of them would all report to him. I can't really trust anyone in that school."</p>
<p>"What about my parents?"</p>
<p>Harry frowned, "What about them?"</p>
<p>"They don't answer to Dumbledore."</p>
<p>Harry frowned in thought, "I mean...I guess. Your mom is alright. I can't say I trust her. And no offense, but I don't know your dad at all. He's barely home and when he is, he gives me that pretentious look you have, except times a thousand. I don't think he likes me."</p>
<p>Draco scoffed, "That's just standard Malfoy greeting."</p>
<p>Harry rolled her eyes, "Yeah. Whatever you say. Off scowling at all his big important mysterious business."</p>
<p>"He's very important! A lot of people listen to him!"</p>
<p>Harry snorted, turned, and poked Draco in the stomach, "So very important."</p>
<p>Draco squeaked from having her ticklish middle manhandled, "Don't you dare! You know I'm ticklish."</p>
<p>Harry grinned wickedly and poked again.</p>
<p>After Draco gave what had to be another undignified squeak, and then growled deeply, "Oh. It's on."</p>
<p>They had a proper tickle battle in which Harry produced plenty of undignified behavior of her own. Draco obviously won, even though Harry managed to find most of Draco's weak spots but Draco found most of Harry's too. And though Harry didn't exactly cry defeat and they only stopped because of mutual exhaustion, Draco still won the battle. She found <em> more </em> of Harry's ticklish spots. So she won. She declared it so, in her own mind at least.</p>
<p>They laid on her bed panting and staring at the ceiling of elaborately carved crown molding, custom made with curving dragons in each of the corners, trying valiantly to catch their breath.</p>
<p>Harry murmured, directed at the ceiling, near silent but still heard clearly "I'm glad I saved you from the troll."</p>
<p>Draco's breath caught in her throat. She turned her head to look at Harry directly. The girl was still staring up at the ceiling, seemingly distant, but then she turned her head toward Draco as well, piercing her with those big green eyes.</p>
<p>Draco's heart could give out at any moment. She would perish at the ripe age of 11. Her irregular heartbeat and pain in her chest could only be symptoms of a dreadful illness. Death by the worst monster she could think of: Harry Potter. </p>
<p>Then Harry gave a sardonic grin, lifting just one corner of her mouth, and said in her voice that Draco knew she thought she was being clever, "You would have been even more whiny than Myrtle. There should only be one ghost who died in a Hogwarts bathroom."</p>
<p>Draco hit her in the face with her pillow.</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>After smacking each other around with pillows and having to call Dobby to repair them, a few of them had split and caused feathers to spill across the room, Harry admitted that there was one adult she trusted a bit: The Patil matriarch. It seemed "Dadi" had made an impression over the visit during Yule, and Draco was determined that the Malfoy family could also during their visit. So she decided to continue encouraging tea times with Mother, and taking Harry's lead on what she wished to share. As much as she wished to bring some adults into all the issues with the Dark Lord, Draco was going to play the long game. It wouldn't do to break Harry's trust in any way.</p>
<p>So they kept topics to mostly polite conversations, classes and teachers, their friends and families. Mother seemed receptive to hearing of Hermione, though she did seem a touch surprised when Draco herself had complimentary things to say about the muggleborn. Draco again wished that she could tell her about Jiaolong, and her new viewpoints, but alas, she was going to follow Harry's lead.</p>
<p>Mother did pull her aside at one point, while Harry was absorbed into one of her books, not to discuss the muggleborn in front of her father.</p>
<p>Draco practically pouted, "I wish I could. I know Father doesn't like muggleborns but Hermione is brilliant. Yes, there are things she misses culturally speaking, but she's respectful and talented and has shown a willingness to learn our ways."</p>
<p>"Your father is-" Mother smoothed a wrinkle that had formed on the collar of Draco's clothes as she thought of exactly what to say, "a perfectionist and an idealist. He wishes very much for an ideal world. He sees problems in the world and wishes to fix them and set things in their proper place. He's always been extremely hard working and passionate. It's one of the things I admire in him. But he's a perfectionist."</p>
<p>Draco frowned, but before she could give it more thought, Mother fixed a strand of Draco's hair, tucking it gently behind her ear, and said with a small smile, "We both are perfectionists. It runs in both our lines. For me, it takes the form of making sure you have the perfect life. If you are happy and well, then I'm fulfilled. I would probably show off the Black temper if anything ever happened to you, darling. There is just no helping it. It's ingrained in us. Right to the magic of our core. Either way. I'm glad you've made such a wonderful if...unorthodox friendship. Just don't tell your father."</p>
<p>"Yes, Mother."</p>
<p>She patted Draco's cheek fondly, "Now. Go show me what a lovely host you've grown to be."</p>
<p>Draco grinned proudly, "Of course, Mother," and hurried back to her library.</p>
<p>
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</p>
<p>Sadly, Harry herself wasn't wise enough to keep their muggleborn friend a secret from her father. It hadn't been a problem for most of the week, but Father had been home the Sunday before the end of break, as it was Easter and therefore a Ministry holiday.</p>
<p>"Do you have any particular aptitude in school, Miss Potter?" Father asked conversationally over their breakfast of oeufs cocotte.</p>
<p>Harry shrugged, "I guess I'm okay. I mostly just like flying and quidditch practices the best. I'm not exactly Hermione."</p>
<p>Draco and her mother both stilled, with their spoons halfway in the air before Mother smoothly said, "Draco told me you have quite the skill on a broom. Youngest seeker since Harold Feverfew?"</p>
<p>Harry took the bait and was happy to turn the conversation to the Gryffindor quidditch team and they continued a back and forth about their chances on taking the cup for that year, much to the great relief of Draco and her mother.</p>
<p>They hit a snag again when conversation turned to Draco's chances of making the team next year.</p>
<p>Harry said with particular pride and enthusiasm, which normally would have Draco practically glowing, especially in front of her father, "Draco's such a good flyer already. Hopefully she can knock Higgs out of the Seeker spot. Plus it'd be more fun playing with Draco. Two birds, one stone, you know?"</p>
<p>Draco's father raised an eyebrow, "Two birds, one stone?"</p>
<p>Harry tilted her head and then seemed to realize what she said, "Oh. I guess that's an idiom you don't have. Muggle thing, I guess. I mean, er. How to explain? It's like you get something? Like extra? With doing something? Like you hit a bird with a stone, which I guess is hard enough, but you get more because you hit two of them?" She scratched at her hair in frustration, "Hermione always manages to explain Muggle things better than me."</p>
<p>Draco's father's eyes narrowed and Draco's breath caught in her throat, he asked, Harry seeming not to realize the danger, "Hermione. Who is this Hermione? Is she a Half-blood?"</p>
<p>It seemed Harry wasn't completely unaware of the change in atmosphere. She seemed to stop, and looked at Draco's father warily, then to her mother and Draco herself. Narcissa Malfoy had maintained her neutral expression, but Draco couldn't tell if she had herself as well. Harry took in their expressions, then her father's far more intimidating demeanor. She seemed to come to some mental conclusions and Draco could almost scream, as she saw what she knew was Harry's determined rebellious look.</p>
<p>"She's a muggleborn. And one of my very best friends. And she's absolutely brilliant."</p>
<p>Fuck.</p>
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<p>Draco couldn't remember the taste of her breakfast after that. She could hear her mother distantly telling Harry to go find the broom shed, and that Draco would only be a while, as she walked to her father's study and her doom. </p>
<p>She wasn't wrong.</p>
<p>As her father closed the wooden door to the study with an intimidating click, he spun around, "You, Draco, are a disappointment."</p>
<p>"But, Fathe-"</p>
<p>"DON'T INTERRUPT ME!"</p>
<p>Draco fell silent.</p>
<p>"You are a disappointment to the Malfoy name. Association with mudbloods and filth! What have I told you! You are who you associate with! Are you a filthy mudblood?!"</p>
<p>Draco bit her lip and didn't answer. She looked around the study for some sort of savior, but only saw the house elves Pepsy and Dobby cowering in one of the corners. No. She was alone.</p>
<p>"Answer me!!"</p>
<p>"N-no, Father." Merlin, she wanted to cry. But there was no use crying to Father. Crying was for the weak.</p>
<p>"You are a disappointment. It was obviously a mistake inviting-" he said with an emphatic sneer, <em> "Gryffindors  </em>into our house, no matter how infamous they might be. The Potter child will stay for tonight and tomorrow, but she will not return for this summer."</p>
<p>Draco gasped. Harry was forbidden from the Manor!? Was he going to forbid her from being her friend, too? </p>
<p>"I can see you've failed to steer the Potter child in the right direction. Am I under the assumption that you've been associating with a mudblood for as long as you've been associating with the Potter brat?"</p>
<p>Draco knew she'd damn herself with whatever response she could give. She would be a disgrace for lying to her father, but 'you are who you associate with.'</p>
<p>"Answer me!!"</p>
<p>"Y-yes, father."</p>
<p>"Shameful. Disgusting. What sort of heir are you? Dragging the Malfoy name with mudbloods. Maybe it would have been different if you had been a proper heir. But Eostre didn't wish to bless us with a boy and we're left to make due with you. Obviously I have failed in teaching you properly. I will hear nothing of you associating with <em> Gryffindors </em> ever again."</p>
<p>Draco's stomach dropped out. </p>
<p>She really was such a failure. She was a failure as an heir. What Malfoy associates with Muggleborns? Whether they were wrong or not, she was breaking tradition. But oh how she wished she could explain. And Harry! She was going to lose Harry! Why couldn't her father see just how important Harry was to her?! And now she was going to lose her. She really was a failure.</p>
<p>Her father sneered, "Obviously the Potter child is a menace and you have failed to show her any goodness and civility. You failed. I am never to hear of you associating with Potter or any of her ilk again. Never."</p>
<p>Draco held in the tears. It wouldn't help any to cry. Crying was for the weak. Crying wasn't for Malfoy heirs.</p>
<p>He scoffed, disgusted he turned to exit the study, "Clean yourself up. Wipe that ridiculous expression off your face. You look like a histrionic Hufflepuff."</p>
<p>He said one final thing before exiting, almost off-hand. His temper had run its course, "And, Draco. Don't be a further disappointment. While the Potter brat is here you might as well be a good host. We wouldn't want rumors to spread of the Malfoys being less than hospitable." And the door shut closed.</p>
<p>Draco was ashamed that she curled on the floor and cried.</p>
<p>
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</p>
<p>Dobby helped magic away her splotchy skin and red eyes, and Draco joined Harry at their broom shed. From what she could tell, Harry knew something had happened, but Draco rebuffed all of her questions with a shake of her head, and only just rose into the air on her broom. She didn't trust herself not to shamefully break down again.</p>
<p>Harry, for once, didn't pry. They just took a few meandering loops around the grounds. Outside in the fresh air, the further they traveled from the Manor itself, the tightness in her stomach seemed to lessen.</p>
<p>Up in the air, looking down on the pond and folly built by Draco's great great great uncle Wilburforth, she felt it a little easier to breathe. To pretend like the last few minutes hadn't happened at all.</p>
<p>"Hey, Potter!"</p>
<p>Harry spun her broom to face her, open and expressively expectant.</p>
<p>"I bet you can't catch me!" Draco shouted before dipping her broom into a dive. The folly was built as a replica of the Parthenon, and Draco ducked and weaved between the columns, with Harry just at her heels.</p>
<p>They danced through the stone, through the faux ruins, crevasses and curtains of ivy, before shooting out into the open air.</p>
<p>Harry was a touch more agile, but Draco knew the grounds better than her own hand. She dodged topiaries and under arbors. She led Harry on a meandering chase taking her slowly to one of her favorite parts of the grounds: the apple orchards.</p>
<p>This time of year it formed rows and rows of white blossomed trees. She ducked under the canopy and was absorbed into a tunnel of white flowers and fresh green new leaves, rows and rows of them. Draco couldn't help but laugh at the sheer beauty and joy of it.</p>
<p>Until, she was hit in the back and toppled off her broom. Harry and Draco tumbled and landed more or less intact, laughing,  thankfully from not too high off the ground.</p>
<p>They laughed some more for a bit, Draco taking in the look of Harry's hair, more and more of an actual bird nest, with bits of leaves and twigs and soft white petals. She was beautiful.</p>
<p>Harry grinned brightly, her freckles moving and scrunching across her cheeks, "Feeling better."</p>
<p>Draco breathed deeply, the air was clean, smelling faintly of new grass and hyachins catching in the wind. It was easy to believe it was just her and Harry alone, sheltered by the white blossomed canopy. Eostre herself granting them her blessing.</p>
<p>"Yeah. I'm better."</p>
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</p>
<p>They stayed out as long as Draco dared, but after skipping lunch, Draco thought they might escape her father's notice if they took an afternoon tea with Mother. She couldn't remember a time her father actually attended afternoon tea, even on ministry holiday.</p>
<p>They dropped their brooms off at the shed and cleaned up in Draco's room, as it wouldn't do to attend tea with all of their organic detritus. Just as Draco had finished pulling the last twig out of the birdnest, they heard the bell ring.</p>
<p>Draco was confused, they weren't due for any company. With a quick word between them, Harry and her decided to check out who it could be, and peeked around the corner from the foyer.</p>
<p>It was two people Draco recognized as an Auror, though she couldn't identify which one, and the Weasleys' father. She concluded within a few seconds they were likely there on a ridiculous and nuisance search. People were often jealous or upset by their family and would post false reports of dark magic and artifacts. It was annoying, but others can be naturally prone to jealousy, especially at the success of others.</p>
<p>Draco's father sneered, "How industrious working on Easter. I hope they're giving you overtime. Wouldn't want your children to starve would you?"</p>
<p>Harry whispered, "Do you know who they are?"</p>
<p>Draco frowned, "They're from the Ministry. Probably got someone making a false report."</p>
<p>The Weasley father looked like he certainly didn't want to be there and said, "Justice shouldn't take holiday. We got a tip off that there were biting Easter eggs being distributed here. Someone's been leaving them for muggle children. It might sound like a harmless prank, but a score of kids are scared and traumatized. The Obliviator department hasn't been happy missing out on their holiday either."</p>
<p>Draco's father huffed, obviously irritated, "I haven't the slightest notion as to what you're talking about."</p>
<p>"Well then, you wouldn't mind us taking a look around, would you?" the Weasley threatened.</p>
<p>Father growled, "I do mind. I was enjoying spending time with my family and would rather not entertain the whims of whatever blood traitor wished to trample over my property and invade my privacy."</p>
<p>Harry raised her eyebrow at Draco at her father's choice of words, but then gasped and whispered to Draco, "I think I know who that is!" Her impulsive behavior struck again, practically giving Draco a coronary when she whispered, "I'm going to go ask," and then jumped around the corner before Draco could stop her. </p>
<p>Draco was forced to go stumbling out from behind Harry with an internal groan and reminder about how Harry was such a terrible influence, before she saw her father turn his head to look at them, and then that same thought of Harry's bad influence had less affection attached and more pain instead. She bit her lip and looked away.</p>
<p>Harry, it seemed, had no sense of shame nor decorum and asked, "Hey. Are you related to the Wesley family?"</p>
<p>The two officials saw Harry and Draco, taking a few seconds to figure them out, looking them both up and down, before the Auror said, "Are you Harry Potter?"</p>
<p>Weasley gasped, "Good lord, you're right! It's Harry Potter! What are you doing here?"</p>
<p>Harry huffed and rolled her eyes, "Draco's my friend. I'm spending the spring hols with her. But you didn't answer my question. Are you related to the Weasleys?"</p>
<p>Said Weasley seemed to shake off some of the astonishment, and said with some politeness for once, going for a handshake, "I should hope so. I'm Arthur Weasley. Lovely to meet you, Harry." </p>
<p>Harry struck out her hand, for him and the Auror, Alex Proudfoot, who also introduced themselves.</p>
<p>Harry then asked, "So you're related to the ones at Hogwarts? I know like...four of them? Mostly the twins cause we play Quidditch together, but Ron seems an okay sort too." She wrinkled her nose in a bit of disgust, "Sorry about Percy. No offense."</p>
<p>Weasley smiled, comfortable and far more open than previously, chuckling lightly "No offense taken. I didn't particularly enjoy being told off by prefects during my time either." Him and Proudfoot both looked at Draco and Harry, each of them holding hands as had been their habit together for a few months. It had just naturally happened as they had walked between classes and Draco half the time didn't even realize she had tucked their hands together. </p>
<p>"I never quite believed the stories my boys brought home that Harry Potter was spending time with a bunch of Slytherins, but it seems it was true. Yes, those are all my children. I have two more boys that have already graduated and my only girl is one year under you and will be joining Hogwarts next year."</p>
<p>Harry nodded, "I heard from Ron he has a sister."</p>
<p>Weasley nodded pleased, "I'm sure she'll end up in Gryffindor, so I hope you'll look out for her."</p>
<p>Harry nodded again, "I'm sure she'll be okay. The girls in Gryffindor are all really nice."</p>
<p>Weasley smiled, "Good, good." He looked at Draco again, curious and mildly concerned.</p>
<p>Harry frowned again, getting that defiant defensive look on her face. </p>
<p>"Ah, then why Slytherin?"</p>
<p>Harry glared, "What's wrong with Slytherin? Draco and Milly and Pansy are all wonderful."</p>
<p>Before Weasley could backtrack at offending Harry she continued.</p>
<p>"They're brilliant! All my friends. Milly is the best with magical creatures, and Pansy and Lavender together practically know absolutely everything happening inside Hogwarts, and Parvati is like...this soothing force? She could probably calm an angry tiger. And Hermione of course is the smartest person I know. And Draco is wonderful! She's clever and loyal and kind in her weird sort of way!" Harry glared, as if in expectation of some form of rebuke.</p>
<p>Weasley raised his hands up, obviously trying not to offend Harry. "I'm glad you've found such good friends! Really!"</p>
<p>Harry nodded decisively, wary but mollified.</p>
<p>Weasley obviously wanting to continue the conversation and properly suck up to Harry said, "Your friends sound absolutely lovely. I've even heard from my boys about some of them."</p>
<p>Harry's shoulders dropped in obvious ease, "Really?"</p>
<p>"Ah. Yes. Hermione Granger, I believe? I had heard of her. Only positive things, which is surprising considering all their different personalities."</p>
<p>Harry was definitely pleased once again, and said excitedly, "She's brilliant. I'm not sure I'd pass most of my classes without her."</p>
<p>Weasley seemed pleased to get back on Harry's good side, "She was definitely notable, because both Ron and Percy speak of her as if she's the next Minister of Magic. And Fred and George agreeing with anything their other brothers say is...well, extremely rare."</p>
<p>Harry snorted, "I can see that."</p>
<p>"I hope you haven't been the target of Fred and George's trouble?"</p>
<p>Harry laughed, "Not really. Though there was that one time they put itching powder in all the Quidditch uniforms. But it was terrible flying weather and I don't think Oliver would have let us skip practice otherwise. Oliver made them polish the locker room with toothbrushes as punishment, but rumor was they used Percy's to do it."</p>
<p>Weasley laughed loud and open, and even Proudfoot seemed to crack a smile.</p>
<p>"I had heard Oliver works the team hard."</p>
<p>Harry rolled her eyes, "He's obsessed. I don't think he has a single thought that's not Quidditch related. But then, we're on a winning streak, so I guess I can't really knock him too much. We're definitely up for the cup this year, baring we don't totally bomb against Ravenclaw."</p>
<p>Weasley looked a little conspiratorial and said in an exaggerated whisper, "Don't you think talking about Gryffindor taking the cup is a little dangerous here?"</p>
<p>Harry snorted, "Are you joking? Draco and I have practically been training the whole time." She said with a little pride, "She's going to make Slytherin Seeker next year. It'd be more fun to play with her and have more competition. Besides, Gryffindor can take whatever they have to dish out, right Draco?"</p>
<p>Draco grinned, forgetting she was in front of her father and it being less than polite behavior. She couldn't help but be pulled into their usual banter. She wasn't going to take this trash talk lying down, "As if. Our races say otherwise. I'm up by three aren't I?"</p>
<p>"Out of seventeen, princess. I'm still beating you in Seeker's games."</p>
<p>"By four! Out of twenty five!"</p>
<p>Harry gave her usual wicked grin, "I'm still winning."</p>
<p>"For now, scarhead!"</p>
<p>"Whatever you say, princess."</p>
<p>"Git."</p>
<p>"Prat."</p>
<p>"Ugly."</p>
<p>"Bitch."</p>
<p>Draco looped her arm around Harry's shoulders, pinning her head in place to properly mess with the birdnest. Harry laughed brightly and escaped the hold and was about to return the favor before Draco's mother gave an obvious cough, having entered the foyer silently.</p>
<p>They both halted in mid-air and then moved to stand in attention, looking a touch shamed.</p>
<p>Draco heard the Auror Proudfoot whispering to Weasley, "I can't believe it. The Malfoys are actually human!"</p>
<p>Mother spoke up, "I was just about to serve afternoon tea for myself and the girls. Would either of you wish to join us?"</p>
<p>The ministry officials both looked awkward and glanced between them.</p>
<p>Draco's mother just stood in silent expectation for a second until she was interrupted by a tug on her robe sleeve.</p>
<p>Harry herself shifted around nervously, and asked, with her big green eyes gazing up at her, "Is tea already ready, Mrs. Malfoy?"</p>
<p>Mother smiled pleasantly down on her, "Yes, Harry."</p>
<p>"Does it have those sandwiches with the cheese?"</p>
<p>"And cucumber? That you like so much? Of course," she said with a slight chuckle.</p>
<p>Weasley and Proudfoot looked awkward and Weasley finally said, "You know, Alex. I think we shouldn't bother them. Obviously that was a false trail. We'll leave you and Harry to your afternoon."</p>
<p>Mother smiled kindly, "Thank you very much. You're very understanding. I am sorry you had to travel all this way. I wish you both a Happy Easter."</p>
<p>The two gave a small bow to her, and said goodbye to Harry directly before leaving.</p>
<p>Just after the door closed and they heard footsteps crunch on the gravel walk, Mother turned to the two girls with a supremely pleased look on her face, interrupting the scolding Draco was certain she was going to get from her father for her uncouth behavior. </p>
<p>"Expertly done, girls! I couldn't have been more proud! Draco darling, the physical affection and bickering was a wonderful touch, and Harry dear, you were a true Slytherin just now! I couldn't have handled them better myself."</p>
<p>Draco's father sneered in disbelief and offense, "What?!"</p>
<p>Mother gave Father a complicated look, Draco thought she seemed cross, though her smile never left her face, "Did you know, Lucius? Harry here told us she was nearly sorted into Slytherin. The Sorting Hat originally wished to place her there, but Draco had made such a poor first impression, she told the hat to place her elsewhere."</p>
<p>She continued, Draco now could very much place her eyes, fierce, glaring straight at her father, her mouth still in a pleasant smile, "It seems that Draco said some particularly rude things about Harry's new friends. Now Draco has felt terrible because she has deprived the world of Slytherin Harry Potter."</p>
<p>Her face mellowed out as she cupped Draco's face gently, directing her gaze at her, "Now we know, there is no use changing the past. All we can do is to do our best to work on our present and fix our mistakes. Right, Draco darling?"</p>
<p>Draco made out what was really going on. She looked up expectantly to her father. Mother also looked up at him, losing the soft look in her eyes as she did so.</p>
<p>"Right, Lucius? Draco had made a terrible mistake, but she is in a position to make things better. It is wonderful having Harry here. Isn't it, Lucius?"</p>
<p>Father looked vaguely nauseated, disgusted. But he grumbled, "Yes. I think you might be correct, Narcissa."</p>
<p>Mother's smile widened slightly and then she stood up, her more genuine smile directed at Harry and Draco, "Now. Let's see about that tea. You must be famished. I know you missed lunch to attend your quidditch training. I have been assured Lisky made a few extra ham croquettes."</p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I love Badass Narcissa. That's a trope I can always get behind.</p><p>I tossed in another Scarlet Witch reference. Harry has been reading a version of X-men.</p><p>Also the peas and potatoes in béchamel is an Easter tradition in my family. It's super delicious and quite fattening. One of the first ingredients in making a béchamel sauce is a whole stick of butter...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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